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In Case You Missed It: A Weekly Summary of Top Content from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

The headshot image of Beth Ridgeway

Beth Ridgeway

Oct 20, 2017
Article

Contents

Week of October 16 – 20, 2017

still from animation showing neutron stars
still from animation showing neutron stars Credits: NASA

NASA Missions Catch First Light from a Gravitational-Wave Event

This week, NASA announced that for the first time scientists have detected light tied to a gravitational-wave event. The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor on NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope picked up a pulse of high-energy light from a powerful explosion from two merging neutron stars, then scientists reported that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory had detected gravitational waves just 1.7 seconds prior. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and many other NASA missions also captured the aftermath of the stellar collision.

Chris Chapman, left, Greg Clark, center, and Ashesh Patel, right, perform air flow balance testing on NASA's new Basic Express R
Boeing engineers, Chris Chapman, left, Greg Clark, center, and Ashesh Patel, right, perform air flow balance testing on NASA’s new Basic Express Racks. The racks, developed at Marshall Space Flight Center, will expand the capabilities for science research aboard the International Space Station. Delivery to the station is scheduled for late 2018. Credits: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given

NASA Develops and Tests New Housing for In-Orbit Science Payloads

With an increase in science investigations and more demand for exploration technology development payloads on the International Space Station, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have developed and are currently testing new shelving units — EXPRESS Racks — to expand research capabilities in orbit.

Leonardo Barreda is a mechanical engineer in the Propulsion Systems Department at Marshall.
Leonardo Barreda is a mechanical engineer in the Propulsion Systems Department at Marshall. At the Thrust Vector Control Systems Branch, where his team provides integrated test environments for SLS flight software. Credits: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton

Marshall Engineer Leonardo Barreda Helps Steer SLS on the Right Path

Leonardo Barreda, born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Juarez, Mexico, always wanted to work on complex engineering problems, so it’s no surprise that he ended up working on a key part of NASA’s new deep-space rocket, the Space Launch System.

Artist's illustration of volcanic activity on the Moon billions of years ago.
Volcanic activity on the Moon billions of years ago, as depicted in this artist’s interpretation, formed the dark lava plains easily seen from Earth. The eruptions also had another significant impact: they likely gave the Moon a short-lived but distinct atmosphere that could be the source for some, if not all, of the water detected on the planetary body. Credits: NASA/MSFC

Ancient Lunar Atmosphere Possible Source of Water on the Moon

Research completed by Marshall planetary volcanologist Debra Needham suggests that an ancient lunar atmosphere, thicker than the atmosphere of Mars today, was likely capable of weathering rocks and producing windstorms. Perhaps even more importantly, it could be a source for some, if not all, of the water detected on the Moon.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA to Host 10th Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium Oct. 25-26

Media are invited to the 10th Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium, Oct. 25-26, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. This year’s theme, “Gateways in Space: Exploration, Security and Commerce,” will focus on benefits, challenges and opportunities in advancing space activities, and highlight recent progress in science, engineering and technology.

For more information or to learn about other happenings at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit NASA Marshall. For past issues of the ICYMI newsletter, click here.