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Top Study Tips from NASA

Study smarter this school year! We asked scientists, engineers, astronauts, and experts from across NASA about their favorite study tips – and they delivered. Here are a few of our favorites:

Study with friends

Find friends that are like-minded and work together to understand the material better. Trading ideas with a friend on how to tackle a problem can help you both strengthen your understanding.

Create a study environment

Find a quiet space or put on headphones so you can focus. You might not be able to get to the International Space Station yet, but a library, a study room, or a spot outside can be a good place to study. If it’s noisy around you, try using headphones to block out distractions.

Take breaks

Don’t burn yourself out! Take a break, go for a walk, get some water, and come back to it.

Looking for more study tips? Check out this video for all ten tips to start your school year off on the right foot!

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From Racing Suits to Robotic Gloves: How to Gear Up with NASA Technology

Did you know you are surrounded by NASA technology? From your apartment building to the doctor’s office, and even in your cellphone camera, there is more space in your life than you think!

In the latest edition of Spinoff, we are introducing dozens of new ways NASA technology could cross your path. Whether you need an extra “hand” on the production line or a weatherproof jacket, check out how to gear up with technology made for space.

Grip-Strengthening Glove

Robots are crucial to exploring space and other planets – they could even support astronauts and form the advance party for places humans have yet to reach. But the human machine is hard to replicate.

A collaboration with General Motors helped us build Robonaut 2 – and the design for this robot’s hands has been adapted into a robotic glove that helps manufacturing employees, such as automobile workers, reduce injuries and improve quality control.

The Swedish company Bioservo used the Robo-Glove technology to create the world’s first industrial-strength robotic glove for factory workers who perform repetitive manual tasks.

The Ironhand glove adds force to the user’s grip with artificial tendons and pressure sensors on the palm and the fingers.

The result? Reduced strain on the user’s own tendons and muscles, meaning fewer workplace stress injuries and better comfort for workers.

Temperature-Control Fabrics

Spacesuits need major insulation and temperature control to protect astronauts on extravehicular activities, aka spacewalks. To help solve this, we created a phase-change material with help from the Triangle Research and Development Corporation.

With funding from a NASA Small Business Innovation Research contract, Triangle incorporated the material into a fabric glove insert that could maintain a steady temperature by absorbing and releasing heat, ensuring it feels just right.

While the invention never made it to orbit, it did make it into the driver’s seat.

Outlast Technologies exclusively licensed the material from Triangle and has incorporated it into outdoor gear, bedding, and now – auto racing suits with help from Cambridge, England-based Walero.

Due to extreme temperatures in the cockpit, drivers in almost every major racing championship wear Walero for its cooling properties. Cristiana Oprea (pictured) wears it while driving for the European Rally Championship. Credit: Walero

The race undergarments, bonded with fire-retardant material for added protection, help drivers maintain a lower core temperature and heart rate, which means fewer mistakes and better lap times.

The suits have been sold to both amateur racers and professional NASCAR drivers.

Lightweight Rain Jackets

The superinsulating material that makes up space blankets is one of our most ubiquitous spinoffs. Found everywhere from inside the walls and roofs of buildings to cryogenic tanks and MRI machines, radiant barrier technology was first created to insulate spacesuits and spacecraft. And now this NASA spinoff can be found in weatherproof jackets as well.

Inspired by her passion to run following a series of surgeries to help correct a life-threatening injury, Hema Nambiar launched her Larchmont, New York, start-up company 13-One. To create her jacket, she worked with Advanced Flexible Materials Inc.’s brand Heatsheets. The brand was already marketing products like the space blankets traditionally distributed after races to prevent dangerous drops in temperature.

The 13-One jackets are designed to be warm and weatherproof, but their thin, reflective lining lets them also be lightweight and easily portable. Credit: Lourenso Ramautar, Out of New York Studio

The resulting line of jackets has a black exterior and a lining to reflect body heat. They weigh less than a pound, are wind- and water-resistant, and easily pack into a small, built-in pouch.

Want to check out more NASA spinoffs? Be sure to find us on spinoff.nasa.gov and on Twitter.

Interested in licensing your own NASA technologies? Check out the NASA Technology Transfer program at technology.nasa.gov.

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The Shrinking Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest lake in the world. Fed primarily by snowmelt and precipitation flowing down from faraway mountains, it was a temperate oasis in an arid region. But in the 1960s, the Soviet Union diverted two major rivers to irrigate farmland, cutting off the inland sea from its source. As the Aral Sea dried up, fisheries collapsed, as did the communities that depended on them. The remaining water supply became increasingly salty and polluted with runoff from agricultural plots. Loss of the Aral Sea's water influenced regional climate, making the winters even colder and the summers much hotter.

While seasonal rains still bring water to the Aral Sea, the lake is roughly one-tenth of its original size. These satellite images show how the Aral Sea and its surrounding landscape has changed over the past few decades.

For more details about these images, read the full stories here: https://go.nasa.gov/2PqJ1ot

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

James Webb Space Telescope

Imagine seeing 13 billion years back in time, watching the first stars grow, galaxies evolve and solar systems form…our James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will do just that!

As the successor to our Hubble Space Telescope, JWST will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. Seems like a lot of pressure, right? Well luckily, JWST is being prepared to fulfill its job by some super smart people…to be exact: more than 1,000 people in more than 17 countries! Once completed and deployed, it will be able to study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems.

The Webb Telescope incorporates several innovative technologies, such as its primary mirror that’s made of 18 separate segments! They are able to unfold and adjust to shape after launch, and are made up of ultra-lightweight beryllium.

The sunshield is another impressive component of the telescope. The sunshield of the Webb Telescope is its biggest feature, and is the size of a tennis court! This five-layer monstrosity will deflect light and heat from the Sun, and allow pieces of the observatory to be kept very cold so they are able to operate properly.

Last week, we successfully installed the first of 18 flight mirrors onto the telescope, beginning a critical piece of the observatory’s construction. The engineering team used a robot arm to lift and lower the hexagonal-shaped segment that measures just over 4.2 feet (1.3 meters) across and weighs approximately 88 pounds (40 kilograms). The full installation is expected to be complete early next year.

This telescope is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and is scheduled to launch in October of 2018 on an Ariane 5 rocket. Until then, be sure to keep up with construction of this next generation space telescope: Twitter, Facebook.

Also, make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com 

Top 10 Ways the Space Station is Helping Get Us to Mars

Believe it or not, the International Space Station is paving our way to Mars. Being the only microgravity laboratory in which long-duration investigations can take place, it provides deeper understanding of how the human body reacts to long-term spaceflight. Here are the top 10 ways the space station is helping us on our journey to the Red Planet:

10: Communication Delays

Have you ever sent a text and got frustrated when it took longer than 3 seconds to send? Imaging communicating from Mars where round-trip delays could take up to 31 minutes! Our Comm Delay Assessment studies the effects of delayed communications for interplanetary crews that have to handle medical and other emergencies in deep space.

9. Astronaut Functional Performance

After a long nights sleep, do you ever feel a bit clumsy when you first get out of bed? Imagine how crew members might feel after spending six months to a year in microgravity! Our Field Test investigation is working to understand the extend of physical changes in astronauts who live in space for long periods of time, with an aim toward improving recovery time and developing injury prevention methods for future missions.

8. Psychological Impacts of Isolation and Confinement

In order to study the behavioral issues associated with isolation and confinement, researchers evaluate the personal journals of space station crew members. These study results provide information to help prepare us for longer duration spaceflight.

7. Impacts on Vision

Did you know that long duration spaceflight can often cause changes to crew members’ vision? It can, and our Ocular Health study monitors microgravity-induced visual impairment, as well as changes believed to arise from elevated intracranial pressure. All of this work hopes to characterize how living in microgravity can affect the visual, vascular and central nervous systems.

6. Immune Responses

An important aspect of our journey to Mars is the need to understand how long-duration spaceflight affects they way crew members’ bodies defend agains pathogens. Our Integrated Immune investigation collects and analyzes blood, urine and saliva samples from crew members before, during and after spaceflight to monitor changes in the immune system.

5. Food for Long-Duration Crews

Just like a hiker preparing for a long trek, packing the foods that will give you the most energy for the longest amount of time is key to your success. This is also true for astronauts on long-duration missions. Our Energy investigation measures a crew members’ energy requirements, which is a crucial factor needed for sending the correct amount of the right types of food to space.

4. Exercise for Long-Term Missions

Rigorous exercise is already a regular part of astronauts’ routines, and continuing that focus will be critical to keeping crew members’ bodies strong and ready for a mission to Mars and a healthy return to Earth. Our Sprint investigation is studying the best combination of intensity and duration for exercise in space.

3. Determine Best Habitat/Environment for Crews

Have you ever complained about your room being too small? Imagine living in cramped quarters with an entire crew for months on a Mars mission! Our Habitability investigation collects observations that will help spacecraft designers understand how much habitable volume is required, and whether a mission’s duration impacts how much space crew members need.

2. Growing Food in Space

There’s nothing like fresh food. Not only does it provide valuable nutrition for astronauts, but can also offer psychological benefits from tending and harvesting the crops. Our Veggie investigation studies how to best utilize a facility aboard the space station for growing fresh produce in microgravity.

1. Manufacturing Items in Space

When crews head to Mars, there may be items that are unanticipated or that break during the mission. Our 3-D Printing in Zero-G Technology Demonstration would give crews the ability to manufacture new objects on demand while in space.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space:http://nasa.tumblr.com

What are the moments when you think to yourself "yes. THIS is why I love my job"..? ✨

Sixty Years of Exploration, Innovation, and Discovery!

Exactly sixty years ago today, we opened our doors for the first time. And since then, we have opened up a universe of discovery and innovation. 

There are so many achievements to celebrate from the past six decades, there’s no way we can go through all of them. If you want to dive deeper into our history of exploration, check out NASA: 60 Years and Counting. 

In the meantime, take a moonwalk down memory lane with us while we remember a few of our most important accomplishments from the past sixty years!

In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which effectively created our agency. We officially opened for business on October 1. 

To learn more about the start of our space program, watch our video: How It All Began. 

Alongside the U.S. Air Force, we implemented the X-15 hypersonic aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s to improve aircraft and spacecraft. 

The X-15 is capable of speeds exceeding Mach 6 (4,500 mph) at altitudes of 67 miles, reaching the very edge of space. 

Dubbed the “finest and most productive research aircraft ever seen,” the X-15 was officially retired on October 24, 1968. The information collected by the X-15 contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs. 

To learn more about how we have revolutionized aeronautics, watch our Leading Edge of Flight video. 

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. The crew of Apollo 11 had the distinction of completing the first return of soil and rock samples from beyond Earth. 

Astronaut Gene Cernan, during Apollo 17, was the last person to have walked on the surface of the moon. (For now!)

The Lunar Roving Vehicle was a battery-powered rover that the astronauts used during the last three Apollo missions. 

To learn more about other types of technology that we have either invented or improved, watch our video: Trailblazing Technology.

Our long-term Earth-observing satellite program began on July 23, 1972 with the launch of Landsat 1, the first in a long series (Landsat 9 is expected to launch in 2020!) We work directly with the U.S. Geological Survey to use Landsat to monitor and manage resources such as food, water, and forests. 

Landsat data is one of many tools that help us observe in immense detail how our planet is changing. From algae blooms to melting glaciers to hurricane flooding, Landsat is there to help us understand our own planet better. 

Off the Earth, for the Earth.

To learn more about how we contribute to the Earth sciences, watch our video: Home, Sweet Home. 

Space Transportation System-1, or STS-1, was the first orbital spaceflight of our Space Shuttle program. 

The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981. Over the next thirty years, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour would be added to the space shuttle fleet. 

Together, they flew 135 missions and carried 355 people into space using the first reusable spacecraft.

On January 16, 1978, we selected a class of 35 new astronauts--including the first women and African-American astronauts. 

And on June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to enter space on board Challenger for STS-7. 

To learn more about our astronauts, then and now, watch our Humans in Space video.

Everybody loves Hubble! The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit on April 24, 1990, and has been blowing our minds ever since. 

Hubble has not only captured stunning views of our distant stars and galaxies, but has also been there for once-in-a-lifetime cosmic events. For example, on January 6, 2010, Hubble captured what appeared to be a head-on collision between two asteroids--something no one has ever seen before.

In this image, Hubble captures the Carina Nebula illuminating a three-light-year tall pillar of gas and dust. 

To learn more about how we have contributed to our understanding of the solar system and beyond, watch our video: What’s Out There?

Cooperation to build the International Space Station began in 1993 between the United States, Russia, Japan, and Canada. 

The dream was fully realized on November 2, 2000, when Expedition 1 crew members boarded the station, signifying humanity’s permanent presence in space!

Although the orbiting lab was only a couple of modules then, it has grown tremendously since then! 

To learn more about what’s happening on the orbiting outpost today, visit the Space Station page.

We have satellites in the sky, humans in orbit, and rovers on Mars. Very soon, we will be returning humankind to the Moon, and using it as a platform to travel to Mars and beyond.

And most importantly, we bring the universe to you. 

What are your favorite NASA moments? We were only able to share a few of ours here, but if you want to learn about more important NASA milestones, check out 60 Moments in NASA History or our video, 60 Years in 60 Seconds. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

10 Things: Calling All Pluto Lovers

June 22 marks the 40th anniversary of Charon’s discovery—the dwarf planet Pluto’s largest and first known moon. While the definition of a planet is the subject of vigorous scientific debate, this dwarf planet is a fascinating world to explore. Get to know Pluto’s beautiful, fascinating companion this week.

1. A Happy Accident

Astronomers James Christy and Robert Harrington weren’t even looking for satellites of Pluto when they discovered Charon in June 1978 at the U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station in Arizona – only about six miles from where Pluto was discovered at Lowell Observatory. Instead, they were trying to refine Pluto's orbit around the Sun when sharp-eyed Christy noticed images of Pluto were strangely elongated; a blob seemed to move around Pluto. 

The direction of elongation cycled back and forth over 6.39 days―the same as Pluto's rotation period. Searching through their archives of Pluto images taken years before, Christy then found more cases where Pluto appeared elongated. Additional images confirmed he had discovered the first known moon of Pluto.

2. Forever and Always

Christy proposed the name Charon after the mythological ferryman who carried souls across the river Acheron, one of the five mythical rivers that surrounded Pluto's underworld. But Christy also chose it for a more personal reason: The first four letters matched the name of his wife, Charlene. (Cue the collective sigh.)

3. Big Little Moon

Charon—the largest of Pluto’s five moons and approximately the size of Texas—is almost half the size of Pluto itself. The little moon is so big that Pluto and Charon are sometimes referred to as a double dwarf planet system. The distance between them is 12,200 miles (19,640 kilometers).

4. A Colorful and Violent History

Many scientists on the New Horizons mission expected Charon to be a monotonous, crater-battered world; instead, they found a landscape covered with mountains, canyons, landslides, surface-color variations and more. High-resolution images of the Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon, taken by New Horizons as the spacecraft sped through the Pluto system on July 14 and transmitted to Earth on Sept. 21, reveal details of a belt of fractures and canyons just north of the moon’s equator.

5. Grander Canyon

This great canyon system stretches more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across the entire face of Charon and likely around onto Charon’s far side. Four times as long as the Grand Canyon, and twice as deep in places, these faults and canyons indicate a titanic geological upheaval in Charon’s past.

6. Officially Official

In April 2018, the International Astronomical Union—the internationally recognized authority for naming celestial bodies and their surface features—approved a dozen names for Charon’s features proposed by our New Horizons mission team. Many of the names focus on the literature and mythology of exploration.

7. Flying Over Charon

This flyover video of Charon was created thanks to images from our New Horizons spacecraft. The “flight” starts with the informally named Mordor (dark) region near Charon’s north pole. Then the camera moves south to a vast chasm, descending to just 40 miles (60 kilometers) above the surface to fly through the canyon system.

8. Strikingly Different Worlds

This composite of enhanced color images of Pluto (lower right) and Charon (upper left), was taken by New Horizons as it passed through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015. This image highlights the striking differences between Pluto and Charon. The color and brightness of both Pluto and Charon have been processed identically to allow direct comparison of their surface properties, and to highlight the similarity between Charon’s polar red terrain and Pluto’s equatorial red terrain.

9. Quality Facetime

Charon neither rises nor sets, but hovers over the same spot on Pluto's surface, and the same side of Charon always faces Pluto―a phenomenon called mutual tidal locking.

10. Shine On, Charon

Bathed in “Plutoshine,” this image from New Horizons shows the night side of Charon against a star field lit by faint, reflected light from Pluto itself on July 15, 2015.

Read the full version of this week’s ‘10 Things to Know’ article on the web HERE.

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Why Do X-Ray Mirrors Look So Unusual?

Does the object in this image look like a mirror? Maybe not, but that’s exactly what it is! To be more precise, it’s a set of mirrors that will be used on an X-ray telescope. But why does it look nothing like the mirrors you’re familiar with? To answer that, let’s first take a step back. Let’s talk telescopes.

How does a telescope work?

The basic function of a telescope is to gather and focus light to amplify the light’s source. Astronomers have used telescopes for centuries, and there are a few different designs. Today, most telescopes use curved mirrors that magnify and focus light from distant objects onto your eye, a camera, or some other instrument. The mirrors can be made from a variety of materials, including glass or metal.

Space telescopes like the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes use large mirrors to focus light from some of the most distant objects in the sky. However, the mirrors must be tailored for the type and range of light the telescope is going to capture—and X-rays are especially hard to catch.

X-rays versus mirrors

X-rays tend to zip through most things. This is because X-rays have much smaller wavelengths than most other types of light. In fact, X-rays can be smaller than a single atom of almost every element. When an X-ray encounters some surfaces, it can pass right between the atoms!

Doctors use this property of X-rays to take pictures of what’s inside you. They use a beam of X-rays that mostly passes through skin and muscle but is largely blocked by denser materials, like bone. The shadow of what was blocked shows up on the film.

This tendency to pass through things includes most mirrors. If you shoot a beam of X-rays into a standard telescope, most of the light would go right through or be absorbed. The X-rays wouldn’t be focused by the mirror, and we wouldn’t be able to study them.

X-rays can bounce off a specially designed mirror, one turned on its side so that the incoming X-rays arrive almost parallel to the surface and glance off it. At this shallow angle, the space between atoms in the mirror's surface shrinks so much that X-rays can't sneak through. The light bounces off the mirror like a stone skipping on water. This type of mirror is called a grazing incidence mirror.

A metallic onion

Telescope mirrors curve so that all of the incoming light comes to the same place. Mirrors for most telescopes are based on the same 3D shape — a paraboloid. You might remember the parabola from your math classes as the cup-shaped curve. A paraboloid is a 3D version of that, spinning it around the axis, a little like the nose cone of a rocket. This turns out to be a great shape for focusing light at a point.

Mirrors for visible and infrared light and dishes for radio light use the “cup” portion of that paraboloid. For X-ray astronomy, we cut it a little differently to use the wall. Same shape, different piece. The mirrors for visible, infrared, ultraviolet, and radio telescopes look like a gently-curving cup. The X-ray mirror looks like a cylinder with very slightly angled walls.

The image below shows how different the mirrors look. On the left is one of the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s cylindrical mirrors. On the right you can see the gently curved round primary mirror for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy telescope.

If we use just one grazing incidence mirror in an X-ray telescope, there would be a big hole, as shown above (left). We’d miss a lot of X-rays! Instead, our mirror makers fill in that cylinder with layers and layers of mirrors, like an onion. Then we can collect more of the X-rays that enter the telescope, giving us more light to study.

Nested mirrors like this have been used in many X-ray telescopes. Above is a close-up of the mirrors for an upcoming observatory called the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM, pronounced “crism”), which is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)-led international collaboration between JAXA, NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The XRISM mirror assembly uses thin, gold-coated mirrors to make them super reflective to X-rays. Each of the two assemblies has 1,624 of these layers packed in them. And each layer is so smooth that the roughest spots rise no more than one millionth of a millimeter.

Why go to all this trouble to collect this elusive light? X-rays are a great way to study the hottest and most energetic areas of the universe! For example, at the centers of certain galaxies, there are black holes that heat up gas, producing all kinds of light. The X-rays can show us light emitted by material just before it falls in.

Stay tuned to NASA Universe on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the latest on XRISM and other X-ray observatories.

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Solar System: Things to Know This Week

With only four months left in the mission, Cassini is busy at Saturn. The upcoming cargo launch, anniversaries and more!

As our Cassini spacecraft made its first-ever dive through the gap between Saturn and its rings on April 26, 2017, one of its imaging cameras took a series of rapid-fire images that were used to make this movie sequence. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Hampton University

1-3. The Grand Finale

Our Cassini spacecraft has begun its final mission at Saturn. Some dates to note:

May 28, 2017: Cassini makes its riskiest ring crossing as it ventures deeper into Saturn's innermost ring (D ring).

June 29, 2017: On this day in 2004, the Cassini orbiter and its travel companion the European Space Agency's Huygens probe arrived at Saturn.

September 15, 2017: In a final, spectacular dive, Cassini will plunge into Saturn - beaming science data about Saturn's atmosphere back to Earth to the last second. It's all over at 5:08 a.m. PDT.

More about the Grand Finale

4. Cargo Launch to the International Space Station

June 1, 2017: Target date of the cargo launch. The uncrewed Dragon spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at our Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The payload includes NICER, an instrument to measure neutron stars, and ROSA, a Roll-Out Solar Array that will test a new solar panel that rolls open in space like a party favor.

More

5. Sojourner

July 4, 2017: Twenty years ago, a wagon-sized rover named Sojourner blazed the trail for future Mars explorers - both robots and, one day, humans. Take a trip back in time to the vintage Mars Pathfinder websites:

More

6. Voyager

August 20, 2017: Forty years and still going strong, our twin Voyagers mark 40 years since they left Earth.

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7. Total Solar Eclipse

August 21, 2017: All of North America will be treated to a rare celestial event: a total solar eclipse. The path of totality runs from Oregon to South Carolina.

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8. From Science Fiction to Science Fact

Light a candle for the man who took rocketry from science fiction to science fact. On this day in 1882, Robert H. Goddard was born in Worcester, Massachusetts.

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9. Looking at the Moon

October 28, 2017: Howl (or look) at the moon with the rest of the world. It's time for the annual International Observe the Moon Night.

More

10. Last Human on the Moon

December 13, 2017: Forty-five years ago, Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan left the last human footprint on the moon.

More

Discover more lists of 10 things to know about our solar system HERE.

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Today we successfully tested one of our RS-25 engines, four of which will help power our Space Launch System (SLS) to deep space destinations, like Mars! This 500-second engine test concludes a summer of successful hot fire testing for flight controllers at our Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The controller serves as the “brain” of the engine, communicating with SLS flight computers to ensure engines are performing at needed levels. The test marked another step toward the nation’s return to human deep-space exploration missions.

We launched a series of summer tests with a second flight controller unit hot fire at the end of May, then followed up with three additional tests. The flight controller tests are critical preparation for upcoming SLS flights to deep space– the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), which will serve as the first flight for the new rocket carrying an uncrewed Orion spacecraft, and EM-2, which will transport a crew of astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft. 

Each SLS rocket is powered at launch by four RS-25 engines firing simultaneously and working in conjunction with a pair of solid rocket boosters. The engines generate a combined 2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. With the boosters, total thrust at liftoff will exceed 8 million pounds!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Up for some virtual cloud watching? ☁️

What do you see in Jupiter's hazy atmosphere?

Our NASA JunoCam mission captured this look at the planet’s thunderous northern region during the spacecraft’s close approach to the planet on Feb. 17, 2020.

Some notable features in this view are the long, thin bands that run through the center of the image from top to bottom. Juno has observed these long streaks since its first close pass by Jupiter in 2016.

Image Credits: Image data: NASA / JPL / SwRI / MSSS Image Processing: Citizen Scientist Eichstädt

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Dreamed of Being an Astronaut?

TweetChat with Astronaut Serena Auñón

Astronaut Serena Auñón hosted a TweetChat where she answered your questions on what it’s like to be an astronaut.

We’re currently accepting applications for the next astronaut class, until Feb. 18. You can find get details and apply HERE. The job posting is available on USAJobs.

Here are a few of the great questions she was asked:

You can check out the full conversation at the #BeAnAstronaut hashtag on Twitter. 

Follow astronaut Serena Auñón on Twitter.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Vote While You float: An Astronaut Voting Story

With the excitement of getting to the polls on Election Day many people will have a hard time keeping their feet on the ground, but astronauts who vote literally have to strap themselves down so they don’t float away.

Astronauts orbit the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour, but thanks to a bill passed by Texas legislatures in 1997 that put in place technical voting procedure for astronauts – nearly all of whom live in Texas – they also have the ability to vote from space!

Image Kjell Lindgren released on social media of the US flag floating in the Cupola module (11/12/2015) 

For astronauts, the voting process starts a year before launch, when astronauts are able to select which elections (local/state/federal) that they want to participate in while in space. Then, six months before the election, astronauts are provided with a standard form: the “Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request – Federal Post Card Application.”

 ‘Space voting’ was first used the same year it was implemented in 1997. NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote in space while on the Russian Mir Space Station. 

STS-86 crewmember David Wolf, the first American to vote in space, relaxes in the Spacehab module while Space Shuttle Atlantis was docked to Mir (10/16/1997) 

While astronauts don’t have to wait in line for his ballot like the rest of us, there is one disadvantage to voting in space: they miss out on the highly coveted “I Voted” sticker.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

What was your favourite NASA mission or project?

Follow our Mars 2020 rover, named Perseverance or “Percy,” on Twitter to keep up with all its progress and discoveries!

Percy: https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere

The Great Aviation Transformation Begins

On this National Aviation Day, we’re going “X.” 

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of America’s original U.S. aviation pioneers — Orville Wright. But this year we also celebrate the pioneers of right now — the women and men of NASA who are changing the face of aviation by going “X.” We’re starting the design and build of a series of piloted experimental aircraft – X-planes – for the final proof that new advanced tech and revolutionary shapes will give us faster, quieter, cleaner ways to get from here to there.

So, what is an X-plane?

Since the early days of aviation, X-planes have been used to demonstrate new technologies in their native environment – flying through the air aboard an aircraft that’s shaped differently from the tube-and-wing of today. X-planes are the final step after ground tests. They provide valuable data that can lead to changes in regulation, design, operations, and options for travel. Two of the most famous historical X-planes are the Bell X-1 and the X-15.

Why can’t I fly supersonic now, say from New York to Seattle?

Because of the loud, jarring sonic boom. Commercial supersonic flight over land and, therefore over communities, is currently prohibited. Our supersonic X-plane will fly “quiet”; there’ll still be a sonic boom but it’ll sound more like a soft “thump.”  The Low Boom Flight Demonstration X-plane, scheduled for first flight in 2021 and to begin community overflight testing in 2022, will provide the technical and human response data to federal and international regulators so they can consider lifting the ban. If that happens, someday commercial supersonic passenger flights between U.S. coasts would be less than three hours.

This is a preliminary design of the Low Boom Flight Demonstration X-plane. Its shape is carefully tailored to prevent the formation of a loud sonic boom.

Will I ever be able to carry on a conversation when a plane flies overhead?

Yes. Our next X-plane will be one that flies at regular speed, but has advanced design technologies and a nontraditional shape that drop perceived noise level by more than half. It will also reduce fuel consumption by 60-80 percent, and cut emissions by more than 80 percent. Design of this piloted X-plane is expected to begin around 2020.

This possible X-plane design is a blended wing body, which reduces drag and increases lift, and also reduces noise because the engines are placed above the fuselage.

Will I ever fly on an airplane powered like my Prius?

Probably. All- or hybrid-electric aircraft that can carry 12 – 120 passengers are becoming more likely. For a larger aircraft and possible future X-plane, NASA is studying how to use electric power generated by the engines to drive a large fan in a tail-cone and get additional thrust for takeoff and reduce fuel use.

This possible future subsonic X-plane would use electricity to power a large fan in the tail-cone, providing extra thrust at takeoff.

We – along with our government, industry and academic partners – have begun the great aviation transformation. And you’ll witness every important moment of our X-plane stories, here and on every #NationalAviationDay.

Like the X-plane posters for National Aviation Day? Download them: https://www.nasa.gov/aero/nasa-x/

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Oddly Satisfying #NASAMoonKits 🌙

What would you take with you to the Moon? 🧳

We’re getting ready for our Green Run Hot Fire test, which will fire all four engines of the rocket that will be used for our Artemis I mission. This test will ensure the Space Launch System rocket is ready for the first and future missions beyond Earth’s orbit, putting us one step closer to landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon!

In celebration of this important milestone, we’ve been asking everyone (yeah, you there!) to dust off your suitcase, get creative, and show us what you would take if you were heading to the Moon!

Take a moment to peruse these #oddlysatisfying #NASAMoonKits submitted by people like you, and let them inspire you to lay out your own masterpiece. Post a picture of what you’d pack for the moon using the hashtag #NASAMoonKit for a chance to be shared by us! ⁣

1. @alexandra4astronaut

A stunning #NASAMoonKit in blue. 💙

2.@timmerman.jess

Looks like a little friend is hoping to catch a ride with this #NASAMoonKit. 🐶

3. @guido_aerus_lombardo

A #NASAMoonKit fit for an explorer. 🧭

4. @melli.jp

Shout out to the monochrome #NASAMoonKit enthusiasts! 🖤

5. @mycactusdress

This #NASAMoonKit is thoughtfully laid out by a true fan. 📚

6. Mar Christian V. Cruz

This geologist’s #NASAMoonKit rocks. ⛏️

7. Nelli

Beauty in simple #NASAMoonKits. ✨

8. @urbanxkoi

This #NASAMoonKit successfully fits into our Expert Mode — a volume of 5” by 8” by 2” (12.7 cm x 20.32 cm x 5.08 cm). The Expert Mode dimensions are based on the amount of space astronauts are allowed when they travel to the International Space Station!

9. PWR Aerospace

Nothing like a cozy #NASAMoonKit. 🧦

10. LEGO

This #NASAMoonKit is clearly for the builder-types! 🧸

How to Show Us What’s In Your #NASAMoonKit:    

There are four social media platforms that you can use to submit your work:

Instagram: Use the Instagram app to upload your photo or video, and in the description include #NASAMoonKit  

Twitter: Share your image on Twitter and include #NASAMoonKit in the tweet  

Facebook: Share your image on Facebook and include #NASAMoonKit in the post  

Tumblr: Share your image in Tumblr and include #NASAMoonKit in the tags

If a #NASAMoonKit post catches our eye, we may share your post on our NASA social media accounts or share it on the Green Run broadcast! 

Click here for #NASAMoonKit Terms and Conditions.  

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

In 2013, researchers published a shape model of asteroid Bennu based on years of observations from Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory. Their model depicted a rough diamond shape. Five years later, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has reached the asteroid, and data obtained from spacecraft’s cameras corroborate those ground-based telescopic observations of Bennu. 

The original model closely predicted the asteroid’s actual shape, with Bennu’s diameter, rotation rate, inclination and overall shape presented almost exactly as projected! This video shows the new shape model created using data from OSIRIS-REx’s approach to the asteroid.

One outlier from the predicted shape model is the size of the large boulder near Bennu’s south pole. The ground-based shape model calculated it to be at least 33 feet (10 meters) in height. Preliminary calculations show that the boulder is closer to 164 feet (50 meters) in height, with a width of approximately 180 feet (55 meters).

Also during the approach phase, OSIRIS-REx revealed water locked inside the clays that make up Bennu. The presence of hydrated minerals across the asteroid confirms that Bennu, a remnant from early in the formation of the solar system, is an excellent specimen for the OSIRIS-REx mission to study. Get all the details about this discovery HERE.

Learn more about OSIRIS-REx’s journey at nasa.gov/osirisrex. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

We’re studying a new method of water recycling and carbon dioxide removal that relies on specific geometric shapes and fluid dynamics, rather than complex machinery, in an effort to help build better life support systems for spacecraft. The research could also teach us more about the water processing approaches we take on Earth. Here, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, is working with the Capillary Structures for Exploration Life Support (Capillary Structures) investigation capillary sorbent hardware that is made up of 3D printed contractors that are supported by tubing, valves and a pump.

Learn more about how this highly interactive investigation works, and what we could learn from the results HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com