NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA’s LRO Satellite Returns First Lunar Images

One of the first lunar images taken by LRO. Image credit: NASA

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has transmitted its first images since achieving lunar orbit. The orbiter’s cameras are working well and have returned images of a region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium. As the moon rotates, the cameras will build detailed photographic maps of the lunar surface -- providing the best topographical data ever obtained about Earth’s moon.

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Michoud Transitions to New Facility Operations Management

Members of the Michoud Transition Board. Image credit: Lockheed Martin

The Michoud Assembly Facility Transition Board signed documents June 25 to turn over manufacturing support and facility operations management at the New Orleans facility to Jacobs Technology of Tullahoma, Tenn., on July 1. The facility previously had been managed by Lockheed Martin for more than 25 years. The Marshall Center manages Michoud -- one of the world's largest manufacturing plants -- for NASA.

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Tanking Test Clears Way for Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch July 11

Space shuttle Endeavour is set to launch July 11 at 6:39 p.m. CDT from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. A July 1 tanking test verified that repairs made to correct a hydrogen leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, were successful. The leak delayed two previous launch attempts June 13 and 17.

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A Super-Efficient Particle Accelerator

Supernova remnant RCW 86. Image credit: Optical: ESO/E. Helder; X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Utrecht/J.Vink et al.

Supernova remnant RCW 86 is all that's left of an exploded star, which may have been observed on Earth in 185 AD by Chinese astronomers. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope is helping astronomers understand new details about the role of supernova remnants. The shock wave visible in this area is a super-efficient particle accelerator within the Milky Way, and the energy used in this process matches the number of cosmic rays observed on Earth.

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> Chandra X-ray Center

Satellites Guide Relief to Earthquake Victims

A Formosat-2 satellite image shows the location (marked in red) of the hotel where President Ma Ying-Jeou of Taiwan and his delegation were staying at the time of the earthquake. Image Credit: Formosat-2/Dr. Cheng-Chien Liu In the early morning hours of May 28, a deadly earthquake rocked Honduras, demolishing homes and sending terrified residents into the streets. Fortunately for the shaken residents, disaster officials knew exactly where to send help. SERVIR is an Earth observation system that uses satellite imagery to zero in on flood, fire, hurricane or earthquake locations. In Honduras, this state-of-the-art technology directed rescuers to the hardest hit areas in record time.

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NASA’s Marshall Center Presents 2009 Honor Awards

On June 24, the Marshall Center honored select team members from its civil service and contractor work force – all of whom have made vital contributions to the U.S. space program and NASA's continuing mission of exploration and discovery.

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NASA’s LCROSS, LRO Satellites Continue to Prepare for Moon Studies

LCROSS first-light image of the moon, as seen on June 23, 2009. Image Credit: NASA

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, successfully completed a lunar swingby and calibration of its science instruments, preparing the spacecraft to search for lunar water ice. Meanwhile, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, will conduct a series of engine burns through June 27 to finalize its lunar orbit, from which it will chart the surface in unprecedented detail. NASA launched both satellites together June 18. The Marshall Center, which is responsible for overall program management of both Lunar Precursor Robotic Program missions, provides mission oversight, technology planning and flight assurance for the satellites.

> LRO News Release
> LCROSS News Release
> LCROSS Photos
> LRO Photos
> Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Web Site
> Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Web Site

NASA Marshall Center's Howard Soohoo: 'You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To'

Marshall Center engineer Howard Soohoo. Image Credit: NASA/MSFC

Marshall Center engineer Howard Soohoo has tested NASA rocket engines and space shuttle hardware since 1987. Last year, he traded his test laboratory for a seat in the head office -- as the executive intern for the Marshall Center director and administrative team. He credits his career goals to his parents and grandparents, Chinese immigrants who moved their family to the southern United States in search of a better life.

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