That’s A Wrap! Thank You All So Much For Your Awesome Questions! 

This composite image shows a coronal mass ejection, a type of space weather linked to solar energetic particles, as seen from two space-based solar observatories and one ground-based instrument. The image in gold is from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, the image in blue is from the Manua Loa Solar Observatory’s K-Cor coronagraph, and the image in red is from ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.

Our constantly-changing sun sometimes erupts with bursts of light, solar material, or ultra-fast energized particles — collectively, these events contribute to space weather. A new study shows that the warning signs of one type of space weather event can be detected tens of minutes earlier than with current forecasting techniques – critical extra time that could help protect astronauts in space. 

Credits: NASA/ESA/SOHO/SDO/Joy Ng and MLSO/K-Cor

Cassini Top 10 Images and Science Results of 2015

As our Cassini spacecraft enters its final 20 months before its plunge into Saturn, the mission’s science team has selected their top 10 images from 2015 (above), a year of historic discoveries, as well as the top science results (below). Take a look:

1. First Deep Seafloor Hydrothermal Vents Found Beyond Earth

Cassini found the first evidence of active hot-water chemistry beyond planet Earth. An extensive, four-year analysis of data from the spacecraft, computer simulations and laboratory experiments led researchers to the conclusion the tiny silica (SiCO2) grains most likely form when hot water containing dissolved minerals from the moon’s rocky interior travels upward, coming into contact with cooler water.

2. Global Ocean Beneath Enceladus’ Surface

A global ocean lies beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s geologically active moon Enceladus. Scientists analyzed more than seven years’ worth of images of Enceladus taken by the spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn since mid-2004. As a result, they found Enceladus has a tiny, but measurable wobble as it orbits Saturn. This proves that there must be a global layer of liquid separating the surface from the core.

3. Titan Observed Outside of Saturnian Magnetosphere

During Cassini’s flyby of Titan, the giant moon happened to be on the sunward side of Saturn when a powerful outburst of solar activity reached the planet. The strong surge in the solar wind so compressed the sun-facing side of Saturn’s magnetosphere that the bubble’s outer edge was pushed inside the orbit of Titan. This left the moon exposed to, and unprotected from, the raging stream of energetic solar particles. The region of space dominated by Saturn’s magnetic field is called the magnetosphere.

4. Density of a Ring Particles May Indicate Recent Origins

Saturn’s A ring was found to be warmer than expected at the planet’s equinox, and also had an unusually large thermal asymmetry about the equinox. This could be due to the A ring being mostly composed of denser particles made primarily of solid ice, with a thin top layer of fluffy regolith.

5. Titan Southern Polar Ice Cloud

Scientists have detected a monstrous new cloud of frozen compounds in Titan’s low- to mid-stratosphere – a stable atmospheric region above the troposphere, or active weather layer.

6. Curtain Vents on Enceladus?

New research using data from Cassini suggests most of the eruptions from Saturn’s moon Enceladus might actually be diffuse curtains rather than discrete jets. Many features that appear to be individuals jets of material erupting along the length of prominent “tiger stripe” fractures in the moon’s south polar region might be phantoms created by an optical illusion, according to the new study.

7. Discovery of Tethys Red Arcs

Like graffiti sprayed by an unknown artist, unexplained arc-shaped, reddish streaks are visible on the surface of Saturn’s icy moon Tethys. The origin of the features and their reddish color is a mystery to scientists.

8. Saturn’s 30-year Giant Storms Powered by Water Convection

Changes in temperature and the composition of the hydrogen-laden air within the remnants of a giant storm system on Saturn reveal that air was lofted more than 120 miles in altitude from the deeper water condensation levels.

9. Seasonal Change Seen at Saturn’s Poles

Saturn’s polar regions have displayed extreme seasonal changes during Cassini’s decade-long watch, providing the most comprehensive view ever obtained of seasonal change on a giant planet.

10. Huygens Probe Imaging Mosaic of Titan’s Surface and Descent Movie

Ten years ago, an explorer from Earth, the Huygens probe, was released from the Cassini spacecraft and parachuted into the haze of an alien moon toward an uncertain fate. After a gentle descent lasting more than two hours, it landed with a thud on a frigid floodplain on Titan, surrounded by icy cobblestones.

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How do space plants grow? This experiment on the International Space Station hopes to find out. Space-grown plants look mostly normal, but have some distinct features compared to plants grown on Earth – most notably in the way their roots grow.

Roots evolved to grow “down” to search out nutrients and water, and on Earth, that response is predominantly governed by the force of gravity. But how does a plant know which way is down when there is no “down”? What determines the direction in which the plant’s roots should grow in space?

We are studying the molecular genetic signals that help guide plant growth in the novel environment of spaceflight, including how plants use new molecular “tools” to sense and respond to their environment when familiar signals are absent. What we learn could improve the way we grow plants in microgravity on future space missions, enabling crews to use plants for food and oxygen. This is just one of many petri plates filled with tiny plants from the Characterizing Arabidopsis Root Attractions-2 (CARA-2) that was recently harvest aboard the space station.

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5 Reasons our Space Launch System is the Backbone for Deep Space Exploration

Our Space Launch System (SLS) will be the world’s most powerful rocket, engineered to carry astronauts and cargo farther and faster than any rocket ever built. Here are five reasons it is the backbone of bold, deep space exploration missions.

5. We’re Building This Rocket to Take Humans to the Moon and Beyond

The SLS rocket is a national asset for leading new missions to deep space. More than 1,000 large and small companies in 44 states are building the rocket that will take humans to the Moon. Work on SLS has an economic impact of $5.7 billion and generates 32,000 jobs. Small businesses across the U.S. supply 40 percent of the raw materials for the rocket. An investment in SLS is an investment in human spaceflight and in American industry and will lead to applications beyond NASA.

4. This Rocket is Built for Humans

Modern deep space systems are designed and built to keep humans safe from launch to landing.  SLS provides the power to safely send the Orion spacecraft and astronauts to the Moon. Orion, powered by the European Service Module, keeps the crew safe during the mission. Exploration Ground Systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, safely launches the SLS with Orion on top and recovers the astronauts and Orion after splashdown.

3. This Rocket is Engineered for a Variety of Exploration Missions

SLS is engineered for decades of human space exploration to come. SLS is not just one rocket but a transportation system that evolves to meet the needs of a variety of missions. The rocket can send more than 26 metric tons (57,000 pounds) to the Moon and can evolve to send up to 45 metric tons (99,000 pounds) to the Moon. NASA has the expertise to meet the challenges of designing and building a new, complex rocket that evolves over time while developing our nation’s capability to extend human existence into deep space.

2. This Rocket can Carry Crews and Cargos Farther, Faster

SLS’s versatile design enables it to carry astronauts their supplies as well as cargo for resupply and send science missions far in the solar system. With its power and unprecedented ability to transport heavy and large volume science payloads in a single mission, SLS can send cargos to Mars or probes even farther out in the solar system, such as to Jupiter’s moon Europa, faster than any other rocket flying today. The rocket’s large cargo volume makes it possible to design planetary probes, telescopes and other scientific instruments with fewer complex mechanical parts.

1. This Rocket Complements International and Commercial Partners

The Space Launch System is the right rocket to enable exploration on and around the Moon and even longer missions away from home. SLS makes it possible for astronauts to bring along supplies and equipment needed to explore, such as pieces of the Gateway, which will be the cornerstone of sustainable lunar exploration. SLS’s ability to launch both people and payloads to deep space in a single mission makes space travel safer and more efficient. With no buildings, hardware or grocery stores on the Moon or Mars, there are plenty of opportunities for support by other rockets. SLS and contributions by international and commercial partners will make it possible to return to the Moon and create a springboard for exploration of other areas in the solar system where we can discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity.

Learn more about the Space Launch System.

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More Than Just Drawings

Artist and graphic designer Mike Okuda may not be a household name, but you’re more familiar with his work than you know. Okuda’s artistic vision has left a mark here at NASA and on Star Trek. The series debuted 50 years ago in September 1966 and the distinctive lines and shapes of logos and ships that he created have etched their way into the minds of fans and inspired many.  

Flight Ops

The Flight Operations patch has a lengthy history, the original version of which dates to the early 1970s. Having designed a version of the patch, Okuda had some insights about the evolution of the design.

“The original version of that emblem was designed around 1972 by Robert McCall and represented Mission Control. It later changed to Mission Operations. I did the 2004 version, incorporating the space station, and reflecting the long-term goals of returning to the Moon, then on to Mars and beyond. I later did a version intended to reflect the new generation of spacecraft that are succeeding the shuttle, and most recently the 2014 version reflecting the merger of Mission Operations with the Astronaut Office under the new banner Flight Operations.”

“The NASA logos and patches are an important part of NASA culture,” Okuda said. “They create a team identity and they focus pride on a mission.”

In July 2009, Okuda received the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal, which is awarded to those who are not government employees, but have made exceptional contributions to NASA’s mission. Above, Okuda holds one of the mission patches he designed, this one for STS-125, the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Orion

Among the other patches that Okuda has designed for us, it one for the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Orion is an integral of our Journey to Mars and is an advanced spacecraft that will take our astronauts deeper into the solar system than ever before. 

Okuda’s vision of space can be seen in the Star Trek series through his futuristic set designs, a vision that came from his childhood fascination with the space program. 

Learn more about Star Trek and NASA.

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Prepare to be mesmerized… 😵‍💫

Feast your eyes on the magnificent galaxy M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy! This hypnotic spiral galaxy was captured in visible light with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Living up to its nickname, the Whirlpool Galaxy has the traits of a typical spiral galaxy, like beautifully curving arms, pink star-forming regions, and brilliant blue strands of star clusters.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is located about 31 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici.

Discover more about the Whirlpool Galaxy here.

Right now, the Hubble Space Telescope is exploring #GalaxiesGalore! Find more galaxy content and spectacular new images by following along on Hubble’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI), and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

The 2021 Perseid Meteor Shower Is Here!

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls 

The Perseids are at their peak this week!

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, will be at its brightest early in the morning on Thursday, August 12, 2021 and Friday, August 13, 2021. Read on for some tips on how to watch the night sky this week – and to find out: what exactly are the Perseids, anyway?

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Your best chance to spot the Perseids will be between 2 AM and dawn (local time) the morning of August 12 or 13. Find a dark spot, avoid bright lights (yes, that includes your phone) and get acclimated to the night sky.

Your eyes should be at peak viewing capacity after about 30 minutes; with a clear, dark sky, you could see more than 40 Perseids an hour! If you’re not an early bird, you can try and take a look soon after sunset (around 9 PM) on the 12th, though you may not see as many Perseids then.

Credit: NASA/MEO

If it’s too cloudy, or too bright, to go skywatching where you are, just stay indoors and watch the Perseids online!

Our Meteor Watch program will be livestreaming the Perseids from Huntsville, Alabama on Facebook (weather permitting), starting around 11 p.m. EDT on August 11 and continuing through sunrise.

So… why are they called the Perseids?

Because all of a meteor shower’s meteors have similar orbits, they appear to come from the same place in the sky – a point called the radiant. 

The radiant for the Perseids, as you might guess from the name, is in the constellation Perseus, found near Aries and Taurus in the night sky.

But they’re not actually coming from Perseus, right?

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Right! The Perseids are actually fragments of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits within our solar system.

If you want to learn more about the Perseids, visit our Watch the Skies blog or check out our monthly “What’s Up” video series. Happy viewing!

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Counting Down to ICON's Launch

In October 2018, we're launching the Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, to study Earth's dynamic interface to space.

The region of Earth's atmosphere on the edge of space plays a crucial role in our technology and exploration. This is where many of our satellites — including the International Space Station — orbit, and changing conditions in this region can cause problems for those satellites and disrupt communications signals.

This part of the atmosphere is shaped by a complicated set of factors. From below, regular weather on Earth can propagate upwards and influence this region. From above, electric and magnetic fields and charged particles in space — collectively called space weather — can also trigger changes. ICON's goal is to better understand this region and how it's shaped by these outside influences.  

10-mile-per-hour sensitivity

Though the ICON spacecraft zooms around Earth at upwards of 14,000 miles per hour, its wind-measuring instrument, named MIGHTI, can detect changes in wind speed smaller than 10 miles per hour. MIGHTI measures the tiny shifts in color caused by the motion of glowing gases in the upper atmosphere. Then, by making use of the Doppler effect — the same phenomenon that makes an ambulance siren change pitch as it passes you — scientists can figure out the gases' speed and direction.

97-minute orbital period

ICON circles Earth in just over an hour and a half, completing nearly 15 orbits per day. Its orbit is inclined by 27 degrees, so over time, its measurements will completely cover the latitudes scientists are most interested in, near the equator.

8 1/3-foot solar panel

ICON doesn't carry any onboard fuel. Instead, its single solar panel — measuring about 100 inches long and 33 inches wide, a little bit bigger than a standard door — produces power for the spacecraft. In science mode, ICON draws about 209-265 Watts of power.

7 years of teamwork

Now getting ready for launch, the ICON team has been hard at work ever since the idea for the mission was selected for further study in 2011.  

634 pounds

How much does good science weigh? In ICON's case, about as much as vending machine. The observatory weighs 634 pounds altogether.

5 snapshots per minute from FUV

Because ICON travels so fast, its Far Ultraviolet instrument takes eight snapshots per second of passing structures. This avoids blurring the images and captures the fine detail scientists need. But available bandwidth only allows FUV to send 5 images per minute, so the instrument uses a de-blurring technique called time-delay integration to combine 12 seconds' worth of data into a single image.

Image credit: Mark Belan

4 types of instruments collecting data in tandem

ICON carries four distinct instruments to study Earth's boundary to space.

2 MIGHTIs (Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging): Built by the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., to observe the temperature and speed of the neutral atmosphere. There are two identical MIGHTI instruments onboard ICON.

2 IVMs (Ion Velocity Meter): Built by the University of Texas at Dallas to observe the speed of the charged particle motions, in response to the push of the high-altitude winds and the electric fields they generate. ICON carries two, and they are the mission’s only in situ instruments.  

EUV (Extreme Ultra-Violet instrument): Built by the University of California, Berkeley to capture images of oxygen glowing in the upper atmosphere, in order to measure the height and density of the daytime ionosphere.

FUV (Far Ultra-Violet instrument): Built by UC Berkeley to capture images of the upper atmosphere in the far ultraviolet light range. At night, FUV measures the density of the ionosphere, tracking how it responds to weather in the lower atmosphere. During the day, FUV measures changes in the chemistry of the upper atmosphere — the source for the charged gases found higher up in space.

360 miles above Earth

ICON orbits about 360 miles above Earth, near the upper reaches of the ionosphere — the region of Earth's atmosphere populated by electrically charged particles. From this vantage point, ICON combines remote measurements looking down along with direct measurements of the material flowing around it to connect changes throughout this region.

2 missions working together

NASA's GOLD mission — short for Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk — launched aboard a commercial communications satellite on Jan. 25, 2018. From its vantage point in geostationary orbit over Brazil, GOLD gets a full-disk view of the same region of space that ICON studies, helping scientists connect the big picture with the details.

1 gigabit of data per day

Together, ICON's instruments produce and downlink about 1 gigabit of data per day — about 125 megabytes. This adds up to about 1 gigabyte per week. ICON produces 10 different data products, ranging from measurements of wind speeds and ionospheric density to more complex models, that will help scientists shed new light on this ever-changing region.

ICON’s launch is scheduled for 4 a.m. EDT on Oct. 26, and NASA TV coverage begins at 3:45 a.m. Stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the latest on ICON. 

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All About That (Nucleic) Base

Studying DNA Aboard the International Space Station

What do astronauts, microbes and plants all have in common? Each relies on DNA – essentially a computer code for living things – to grow and thrive. The microscopic size of DNA, however, can create some big challenges for studying it aboard the International Space Station.

The real question about DNA in space: but why, tho?

Studying DNA in space could lead to a better understanding of microgravity’s impact on living organisms and could also offer ways to identify unknown microbes in spacecraft, humans and the deep space locations we hope to visit one day.

Most Earth-based molecular research equipment is large and requires significant amounts of power to run. Those are two characteristics that can be difficult to support aboard the station, so previous research samples requiring DNA amplification and sequencing had to be stored in space until they could be sent back to Earth aboard a cargo spacecraft, adding to the time required to get results.

Fun science pro tip: amplification means to make lots and lots of copies of a specific section of DNA.

However, all of that has changed in a few short years as we’ve worked to find new solutions for rapid in-flight molecular testing aboard the space station.

“We need[ed] to get machines to be compact, portable, robust, and independent of much power generation to allow for more agile testing in space,” NASA astronaut and molecular biologist Kate Rubins said in a 2016 downlink with the National Institutes of Health.

The result? An advanced suite of tabletop and palm-sized tools including MinION, miniPCR, and Wet-Lab-2, and more tools and processes on the horizon.

The timeline:

Space-based DNA testing took off in 2016 with the Biomolecule Sequencer.

Comprised of the MinION sequencer and a Surface Pro 3 tablet for analysis, the tool was used to sequence DNA in space for the first time with Rubins at the helm.

In 2017, that tool was used again for Genes in Space-3, as NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson collected and tested samples of microbial growth from around the station.

Alongside MinION, astronauts also tested miniPCR, a thermal cycler used to perform the polymerase chain reaction. Together these platforms provided the identification of unknown station microbes for the first time EVER from space.

This year, those testing capabilities translated into an even stronger portfolio of DNA-focused research for the orbiting laboratory’s fast-paced science schedule. For example, miniPCR is being used to test weakened immune systems and DNA alterations as part of a student-designed investigation known as Genes in Space-5.

The study hopes to reveal more about astronaut health and potential stress-related changes to DNA created by spaceflight. Additionally, WetLab-2 facility is a suite of tools aboard the station designed to process biological samples for real-time gene expression analysis.

More tools for filling out the complete molecular studies opportunities on the orbiting laboratory are heading to space soon.

“The mini revolution has begun,” said Sarah Wallace, our principal investigator for the upcoming Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST) investigation. “These are very small, efficient tools. We have a nicely equipped molecular lab on station and devices ideally sized for spaceflight.”

BEST is scheduled to launch to the station later this spring and will compare swab-to-sequencer testing of unknown microbes aboard the space station against current culture-based methods.

Fast, reliable sequencing and identification processes could keep explorers safer on missions into deep space. On Earth, these technologies may make genetic research more accessible, affordable and mobile.

To learn more about the science happening aboard the space station, follow @ISS_Research for daily updates. For opportunities to see the space station pass over your town, check out Spot the Station.

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Cosmic Alphabet Soup: Classifying Stars

If you’ve spent much time stargazing, you may have noticed that while most stars look white, some are reddish or bluish. Their colors are more than just pretty – they tell us how hot the stars are. Studying their light in greater detail can tell us even more about what they’re like, including whether they have planets. Two women, Williamina Fleming and Annie Jump Cannon, created the system for classifying stars that we use today, and we’re building on their work to map out the universe.

By splitting starlight into spectra – detailed color patterns that often feature lots of dark lines – using a prism, astronomers can figure out a star’s temperature, how long it will burn, how massive it is, and even how big its habitable zone is. Our Sun’s spectrum looks like this:

Astronomers use spectra to categorize stars. Starting at the hottest and most massive, the star classes are O, B, A, F, G (like our Sun), K, M. Sounds like cosmic alphabet soup! But the letters aren’t just random – they largely stem from the work of two famous female astronomers.

Williamina Fleming, who worked as one of the famous “human computers” at the Harvard College Observatory starting in 1879, came up with a way to classify stars into 17 different types (categorized alphabetically A-Q) based on how strong the dark lines in their spectra were. She eventually classified more than 10,000 stars and discovered hundreds of cosmic objects!

That was back before they knew what caused the dark lines in spectra. Soon astronomers discovered that they’re linked to a star’s temperature. Using this newfound knowledge, Annie Jump Cannon – one of Fleming’s protégés – rearranged and simplified stellar classification to include just seven categories (O, B, A, F, G, K, M), ordered from highest to lowest temperature. She also classified more than 350,000 stars!

Type O stars are both the hottest and most massive in the new classification system. These giants can be a thousand times bigger than the Sun! Their lifespans are also around 1,000 times shorter than our Sun’s. They burn through their fuel so fast that they only live for around 10 million years. That’s part of the reason they only make up a tiny fraction of all the stars in the galaxy – they don’t stick around for very long.

As we move down the list from O to M, stars become progressively smaller, cooler, redder, and more common. Their habitable zones also shrink because the stars aren’t putting out as much energy. The plus side is that the tiniest stars can live for a really long time – around 100 billion years – because they burn through their fuel so slowly.

Astronomers can also learn about exoplanets – worlds that orbit other stars – by studying starlight. When a planet crosses in front of its host star, different kinds of molecules in the planet’s atmosphere absorb certain wavelengths of light.

By spreading the star’s light into a spectrum, astronomers can see which wavelengths have been absorbed to determine the exoplanet atmosphere’s chemical makeup. Our James Webb Space Telescope will use this method to try to find and study atmospheres around Earth-sized exoplanets – something that has never been done before.

Our upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will study the spectra from entire galaxies to build a 3D map of the cosmos. As light travels through our expanding universe, it stretches and its spectral lines shift toward longer, redder wavelengths. The longer light travels before reaching us, the redder it becomes. Roman will be able to see so far back that we could glimpse some of the first stars and galaxies that ever formed.

Learn more about how Roman will study the cosmos in our other posts:

Roman’s Family Portrait of Millions of Galaxies

New Rose-Colored Glasses for Roman

How Gravity Warps Light

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