What Encouraging Words Would You Say To Girls And Women With Dreams And Ambitions Who Live In Oppressive

Build a Rover, Race a Rover!

Have you ever wanted to drive a rover across the surface of the Moon?

This weekend, students from around the world will get their chance to live out the experience on Earth! At the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, high schoolers and college students operate human-powered rovers that they designed and built as they traverse a simulated world, making decisions and facing obstacles that replicate what the next generation of explorers will face in space.

Though the teams that build the rover can be a few people or a few dozen, in the end, two students (one male, one female) will end up navigating their rover through a custom-built course at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Each duo will push their rover to the limit, climbing up hills, bumping over rocky and gravelly grounds, and completing mission objectives (like retrieving soil samples and planting their team flag) for extra points -- all in less than seven minutes.

2019 will mark the 25th year of Rover Challenge, which started life as the Great Moonbuggy Race on July 16, 1994. Six teams braved the rain and terrain (without a time limit) in the Rocket City that first year -- and in the end, the University of New Hampshire emerged victorious, powering through the moon craters, boulder fields and other obstacles in eighteen minutes and fifty-five seconds.

When it came time to present that year's design awards, though, the honors went to the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, who have since become the only school to compete in every Great Moonbuggy Race and Rover Challenge hosted by NASA Marshall. The second-place finishers in 1994, the hometown University of Alabama in Huntsville, are the only other school to compete in both the first race and the 25th anniversary race in 2019.

Since that first expedition, the competition has only grown: the race was officially renamed the Human Exploration Rover Challenge for 2014, requiring teams to build even more of their rover from the wheels up, and last year, new challenges and tasks were added to better reflect the experience of completing a NASA mission on another planet. This year, almost 100 teams will be competing in Rover Challenge, hailing from 24 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and countries from Bolivia to Bangladesh.

Rover Challenge honors the legacy of the NASA Lunar Roving Vehicle, which made its first excursion on the moon in 1971, driven by astronauts David Scott and James Irwin on Apollo 15. Given the competition's space race inspiration, it's only appropriate that the 25th year of Rover Challenge is happening in 2019, the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's historic Apollo 11 moon landing.

Interested in learning more about Rover Challenge? Get the details on the NASA Rover Challenge site -- then join us at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (entrance is free) or watch live on the Rover Challenge Facebook Page starting at 7 AM CT, this Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13. Happy roving!

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Why's your suit so colorful?

NASA’s 60th Anniversary: Humans in Space

It is part of the human spirit to explore. During 60 years, we have selected 350 people as astronauts to lead the way. For nearly two decades, humans have been living and working aboard the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit to enable future missions forward to the Moon and on to Mars while also leading discoveries that improve life on Earth. Since we opened for business on Oct. 1, 1958, our history tells a story of exploration, innovation and discoveries. The next 60 years, that story continues. Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/60

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

How do you know if your solar eclipse glasses are legit?

Make sure to see that it has the ISO 12312-2 compliant and check that it’s from a trusted vendor. You can find a link here https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety with more information and links to lists of trusted vendors. 

What in the Universe is an Exoplanet?

Simply put, an exoplanet is a planet that orbits another star. 

All of the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun. Planets that orbit around other stars outside our solar system are called exoplanets.

Just because a planet orbits a star (like Earth) does not mean that it is automatically stable for life. The planet must be within the habitable zone, which is the area around a star in which water has the potential to be liquid…aka not so close that all the water would evaporate, and not too far away where all the water would freeze.

Exoplanets are very hard to see directly with telescopes. They are hidden by the bright glare of the stars they orbit. So, astronomers use other ways to detect and study these distant planets by looking at the effects these planets have on the stars they orbit.

One way to search for exoplanets is to look for "wobbly" stars. A star that has planets doesn’t orbit perfectly around its center. From far away, this off-center orbit makes the star look like it’s wobbling. Hundreds of planets have been discovered using this method. However, only big planets—like Jupiter, or even larger—can be seen this way. Smaller Earth-like planets are much harder to find because they create only small wobbles that are hard to detect.

How can we find Earth-like planets in other solar systems?

In 2009, we launched a spacecraft called Kepler to look for exoplanets. Kepler looked for planets in a wide range of sizes and orbits. And these planets orbited around stars that varied in size and temperature.

Kepler detected exoplanets using something called the transit method. When a planet passes in front of its star, it’s called a transit. As the planet transits in front of the star, it blocks out a little bit of the star's light. That means a star will look a little less bright when the planet passes in front of it. Astronomers can observe how the brightness of the star changes during a transit. This can help them figure out the size of the planet.

By studying the time between transits, astronomers can also find out how far away the planet is from its star. This tells us something about the planet’s temperature. If a planet is just the right temperature, it could contain liquid water—an important ingredient for life.

So far, thousands of planets have been discovered by the Kepler mission.

We now know that exoplanets are very common in the universe. And future missions have been planned to discover many more!

Next month, we’re launching an explorer-class planet finder — the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). This mission will search the entire sky for exoplanets — planets outside our solar system that orbit sun-like stars.

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

Hii! I'm unsure if you've been asked this before, but I'd like to give it a shot anyway. What's the greatest legacy you hope to leave to the future generations? Whether it's one of the things you've accomplished already or are hoping to accomplish yet. Thank you very much!

It’s National Composites Week! Wait, what’s a composite?

This week, we’re celebrating National Composites Week, which CompositesWorld says is about shedding some light on how “composite materials and composites manufacturing contributes to the products and structures that shape the American manufacturing landscape today.”

What exactly are composites and why are we talking about them?

Composites are building materials that we use to make airplanes, spacecraft and structures or instruments, such as space telescopes. But why are they special?

Composites consist of two or more materials, similar to a sandwich. Each ingredient in a sandwich could be eaten individually, but combining them is when the real magic happens. Sure, you could eat a few slices of cold cheese chased with some floppy bread. But real talk: buttery, toasted bread stuffed with melty, gooey Gouda makes a grilled cheese a much more satisfying nosh.

With composites—like our sandwich—the different constituent parts each have special properties that are enhanced when combined. Take carbon fibers which are strong and rigid. Their advantage compared to other structural materials is that they are much lighter than metals like steel and aluminum. However, in order to build structures with carbon fibers, they have to be held together by another material, which is referred to as a matrix. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer is a composite consisting of carbon fibers set in a plastic matrix, which yields an extremely strong, lightweight, high-performing material for spacecraft.

Composites can also be found on the James Webb Space Telescope. They support the telescope’s beryllium mirrors, science instruments and thermal control systems and must be exquisitely stable to keep the segments aligned.

We invest in a variety of composite technology research to advance the use of these innovative materials in things like fuel tanks on spacecraft, trusses or structures and even spacesuits. Here are a few exciting ways our Space Technology Mission Directorate is working with composites:

Deployable structures on small spacecraft

We’re developing deployable composite booms for future deep space small satellite missions. These new structures are being designed to meet the unique requirements of small satellites, things like the ability to be packed into very small volumes and stored for long periods of time without getting distorted.

A new project, led by our Langley Research Center and Ames Research Center, called the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System will test deployment of a composite boom solar sail system in low-Earth orbit. This mission will demonstrate the first use of composite booms for a solar sail in orbit as well as new sail packing and deployment systems.

Nano (teeny tiny) composites

We are working alongside 11 universities, two companies and the Air Force Research Laboratory through the Space Technology Research Institute for Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design (US-COMP). The institute is receiving $15 million over five years to accelerate carbon nanotube technologies for ultra-high strength, lightweight aerospace structural materials. This institute engages 22 professors from universities across the country to conduct modeling and experimental studies of carbon nanotube materials on an atomistic molecular level, macro-scale and in between. Through collaboration with industry partners, it is anticipated that advances in laboratories could quickly translate to advances in manufacturing facilities that will yield sufficient amounts of advanced materials for use in NASA missions.

Through Small Business Innovative Research contracts, we’ve also invested in Nanocomp Technologies, Inc., a company with expertise in carbon nanotubes that can be used to replace heavier materials for spacecraft, defense platforms, and other commercial applications.

Nanocomp’s Miralon™ YM yarn is made up of pure carbon nanotube fibers that can be used in a variety of applications to decrease weight and provide enhanced mechanical and electrical performance. Potential commercial use for Miralon yarn includes antennas, high frequency digital/signal and radio frequency cable applications and embedded electronics. Nanocomp worked with Lockheed Martin to integrate Miralon sheets into our Juno spacecraft.

Composites for habitats

At last spring’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge the top two teams used composite materials in their winning habitat submissions. The multi-phase competition challenged teams to 3D print one-third scale shelters out of recyclables and materials that could be found on deep space destinations, like the Moon and Mars.

After 30 hours of 3D-printing over four days of head-to-head competition, the structures were subjected to several tests and evaluated for material mix, leakage, durability and strength. New York-based AI. SpaceFactory won first place using a polylactic acid plastic, similar to materials available for Earth-based, high-temperature 3D printers.

This material was infused with micro basalt fibers as well, and the team was awarded points during judging because major constituents of the polylactic acid material could be extracted from the Martian atmosphere.

Second place was awarded to Pennsylvania State University who utilized a mix of Ordinary Portland Cement, a small amount of rapid-set concrete, and basalt fibers, with water.

These innovative habitat concepts will not only further our deep space exploration goals, but could also provide viable housing solutions right here on Earth.

Student research in composites

We are also supporting the next generation of engineers, scientists and technologists working on composites through our Space Technology Research Grants. Some recently awarded NASA Space Technology Fellows—graduate students performing groundbreaking, space technology research on campus, in labs and at NASA centers—are studying the thermal conductivity of composites and an optimized process for producing carbon nanotubes and clean energy.

We work with composites in many different ways in pursuit of our exploration goals and to improve materials and manufacturing for American industry. If you are a company looking to participate in National Composites Week, visit: https://www.nationalcompositesweek.com.

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

NASA Spotlight: Christina Hernandez, NASA Mars 2020 Rover Instrument Engineer

“I was in love with the beauty of space. It was my introduction to appreciating the beauty of complex, chaotic things—black holes, giant gas planets, or killer asteroids—that got my imagination riled up.“ -Christina Hernandez

Christina Hernandez, a space enthusiast and self-proclaimed nerd, is an aerospace engineer at our Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California where she works as an instrument engineer on our newest rover mission – Mars2020. The Mars2020 rover is a robotic scientist that is launching to the Red Planet next year. If you would like to launch to the Red Planet as well, you can Send Your Name to Mars along with millions of other people! Christina’s job is to make sure that the instruments we send to the Martian surface are designed, built, tested and operated correctly so we can retrieve allll the science. When she isn’t building space robots, she loves exploring new hiking trails, reading science fiction and experimenting in the kitchen. Christina took a break from building our next Martian scientist to answer some questions about her life and her career: 

If you could go to Mars, would you? And what are three things you’d bring with you?

Only if I had a round trip ticket! I like the tacos and beach here on Earth too much. If I could go, I would bring a bag of Hot Cheetos, a Metallica album, and the book On the Shoulders of Giants.

If you could name the Mars2020 rover, what would you name it and why?

Pilas, a reference to a phrase my family says a lot, ponte las pilas. It literally means put your batteries on or in other words, get to work, look alive or put some energy into it. Our rover is going to need to have her batteries up and running for all the science she is going to be doing! Luckily, the rover has a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) to help keep the batteries charged!

What’s been your most memorable day at NASA?

It’s been seeing three of the instruments I worked on getting bolted and connected to the flight rover. I’ll never forget seeing the first 1’s and 0’s being exchanged between the rover compute element (RCE), the rover’s on-board brain, and the instruments’ electronics boxes (their brains). I am sure it was a wonderful conversation between the two!

It’s a long journey to get from Earth to Mars. What would be on your ultimate road trip playlist?

Metallica, The Cure, Queen, Echo and the Bunnymen, Frank Sinatra, Ramon Ayala, AC/DC, Selena, Los Angeles Azules, ughhhh – I think I just need a Spotify subscription to Mars.

What is one piece of advice you wish someone would’ve told you?

Take your ego out of the solution space when problem solving.

Do you have any secret skills, talents, or hobbies?

I love reading. Each year I read a minimum of 20 books, with my goal this year being 30 books. It’s funny I increased my goal during what has definitely been my busiest year at work. I recently got into watercolor painting. After spending so much time connected at work, I started looking for more analog hobbies. I am a terrible painter right now, but I painted my first painting the other day. It was of two nebulas! It’s not too bad! I am hoping watercolor can help connect me more to the color complexities of nature...and it’s fun!

What’s a project or problem that you would love the ability to tackle/work on?

I would love to work on designs for planetary human explorers. So far, I have focused on robotic explore, but when you throw a “loveable, warm, squishy thing” into the loop, its creates a different dimension to design – both with respect to operability and risk.

Thanks so much Christina! The Mars2020 rover is planned to launch on July 17, 2020, and touch down in Jezero crater on Mars on February 18, 2021.

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

Find Out Why We’re Blasting this Rocket with Wind

The world’s most powerful rocket – our Space Launch System (SLS) – may experience ground wind gusts of up to 70 mph as it sits on the launch pad before and during lift off for future missions. Understanding how environmental factors affect the rocket will help us maintain a safe and reliable distance away from the launch tower during launch.

How do we even test this? Great question! Our Langley Research Center’s 14x22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel in Hampton, Virginia, is designed to simulate wind conditions. Rather than having to test a full scale rocket, we’re able to use a smaller, to-scale model of the spacecraft.

Wind tunnel tests are a cost effective and efficient way to simulate situations where cross winds and ground winds affect different parts of the rocket. The guidance, navigation, and control team uses the test data as part of their simulations to identify the safety distance between the rocket and the launch tower.  

SLS is designed to evolve as we move crew and cargo farther into the solar system than we have ever been before. The Langley team tested the second more powerful version of the SLS rocket, known as the Block 1B, in both the crew and cargo configuration. 

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the hard work being done to support safe explorations to deep-space...

Below, an engineer simulates ground winds on the rocket during liftoff by using what’s called smoke flow visualization. This technique allows engineers to see how the wind flow behaves as it hits the surface of the launch tower model.

The 6-foot model of the SLS rocket undergoes 140 mph wind speeds in Langley’s 14x22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel. Engineers are simulating ground winds impacting the rocket as it leaves the launch pad.

The cargo version of the rocket is positioned at a 0-degree angle to simulate the transition from liftoff to ascent as the rocket begins accelerating through the atmosphere.

Here, engineers create a scenario where the rocket has lifted off 100 feet in the air past the top of the launch tower. At this point in the mission, SLS is moving at speeds of about 100 mph!

Engineers at Langley collect data throughout the test which is used by the rocket developers at our Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to analyze and incorporate into the rocket’s design.

Learn more about our Space Launch System rocket HERE. 

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Seven Years of Tracking the Solar Cycle

Our sun is ever-changing, and a satellite called the Solar Dynamics Observatory has a front-row seat. 

On February 11, 2010, we launched the Solar Dynamics Observatory, also known as SDO. SDO keeps a constant eye on the sun, helping us track everything from sunspots to solar flares to other types of space weather that can have an impact on Earth.

After seven years in space, SDO has had a chance to do what few other satellites have been able to do – watch the sun for the majority of a solar cycle in 11 types of light.

The sun’s activity rises and falls in a pattern that lasts about 11 years on average. This is called the solar cycle.

Solar activity can influence Earth. For instance, it’s behind one of Earth’s most dazzling natural events – the aurora.

One of the most common triggers of the aurora is a type of space weather called a coronal mass ejection, which is a billion-ton cloud of magnetic solar material expelled into space at around a million miles an hour. 

When these clouds collide with Earth’s magnetic field, they can rattle it, sending particles down into the atmosphere and triggering the auroras. These events can also cause satellite damage and power grid strain in extreme cases. 

The sun is in a declining activity phase, so coronal mass ejections will be less common over the next few years, as will another one of the main indicators of solar activity – sunspots.

Sunspots are created by twisted knots of magnetic field. Solar material in these tangled regions is slightly cooler than the surrounding areas, making them appear dark in visible light.

The tangled magnetic field that creates sunspots also causes most solar activity, so more sunspots means more solar activity, and vice versa. Humans have been able to track the solar cycle by counting sunspots since the 17th century.  

Image: Houghton Library, Harvard University, *IC6.G1333.613ia

The peak of the sun’s activity for this cycle, called solar maximum, was in 2014. 

Now, we’re heading towards the lowest solar activity for this solar cycle, also known as solar minimum. As solar activity declines, the number of sunspots decreases. We sometimes go several days without a single visible sunspot.

But there’s much more to the story than sunspots – SDO also watches the sun in a type of light called extreme ultraviolet. This type of light is invisible to human eyes and is blocked by our atmosphere, so we can only see the sun this way with satellites.

Extreme ultraviolet light reveals different layers of the sun’s atmosphere, helping scientists connect the dots between the sunspots that appear in visible light and the space weather that impacts us here on Earth.

SDO keeps an eye on the sun 24/7, and you can see near real-time images of the sun in 11 types of light at sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data.