In early September, I drove down to Wallops Flight Facility to set up our GPS base station in preparation for the test flight. The test flight is to verify that everything is working as expected, and to do some calibration, since the C-130 is a new platform for the Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS). LVIS […]
Microbiome Investigation: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg performed her return minus 14 (R-14) day session of the Microbiome investigation. This included taking surface samples in the ISS, performing body sample collections, inserting samples into cold stowage and answering survey questions. The Microbiome experiment investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and …
Editor’s note: In fall 2013, researchers aboard a NASA C-130 traveled to Greenland to study changes in the ice sheet and sea ice following the summer melt season. Other airborne campaigns, like NASA’s Operation IceBridge, study changes on an annual basis and this is the first large-scale airborne survey of seasonal change. The C-130, equipped […]
Spinal Ultrasound Scans: Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins supporting as the operator conducted Flight Day 150 cervical and lumbosacral ultrasound scans of FE-5 Parmitano with remote guidance from the ground team. This investigation aims to characterize microgravity-associated spinal alterations during and after spaceflight using in-flight ultrasound. Results from this research will provide data to enhance crew health …
One year ago today, citizens of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and much of the northeastern United States woke up to flooded avenues and homes, wind-ravaged neighborhoods, blackouts, and ripped up trees, coastlines, and lives. In the dark, early hours of October 30, 2012, the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite caught this glimpse […]
Hello from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the MAVEN spacecraft is undergoing careful preparations at the hands of engineers and technicians ahead of its launch to study the upper atmosphere and history of Mars. Adjacent to Kennedy, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, teams are readying a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket …
Ice Crystal-2 Troubleshooting: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg measured the resistance of the Temperature Control Cable and Ice Cell 2 in the Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF) with a multimeter to check the conduction state prior to the reconfiguration of signal cables tomorrow. Ice Crystal-2 operations are planned to begin the week of November 18th. JAXA’s …
We never know what we are going to see when we check the NASA Marshall meteor cameras each morning. Over time, we’ve acquired quite a collection of startling and fascinating images captured by various cameras. In the spirit of Halloween fun, we’ve put together a collection that reminds us of All Hallow’s Eve. We’ve found …
In the early morning of October 25, 5:45 a.m. CDT, a scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, using a 14” inch telescope captured this image of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which is brightening as it approaches the Sun. The comet shines with a faint green color just to the left of center; the diagonal …
