This week, the three-month process of aligning the telescope began – and over the last day, Webb team members saw the first photons of starlight that traveled through the entire telescope and were detected by the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument. This milestone marks the first of many steps to capture images that are at …
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei has lived in space continuously for 300 days since launching and docking to the orbiting lab on April 9, 2021. He is on his way to surpassing Christina Koch’s 328-day mission on March 3 and Scott Kelly’s 340 days on March 15. Vande Hei will return to Earth on March …
Payloads: Actiwatch Plus: Four Actiwatch Plus devices were connected to the HRF Payload Drawer on HRF Rack 1 for charging and data download. The Actiwatch is a waterproof, nonintrusive, sleep-wake activity monitor worn on the wrist of a crewmember. The device contains a miniature uniaxial accelerometer that produces a signal as the subject moves. The …
Life science, robotics and space construction kept the Expedition 66 crew busy aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The orbital residents also worked on spacesuits and inspected a Russian module. Eye checks continued on the orbiting lab with NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn taking charge as crew medical officer during the afternoon. The three-time station …
By Katrina Wesencraft As project manager for NASA’s Scientifically Calibrated In-flight Imagery (SCIFLI) group, Dr. Jennifer Inman is used to managing complicated logistics and solving problems ahead of her team’s deployments. Someone needs a new laptop? No problem. A research plane needs new window panels? OK! The SCIFLI team – which specializes in in-flight imaging …
NASA has updated the schedule to move the combined Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for testing to no earlier than March 2022. NASA has added additional time to complete closeout activities inside the VAB …
Payloads: BioNutrients: A crewmember gathered BioNutrients hardware in preparation for upcoming operations. BioNutrients demonstrates a technology that enables on-demand production of human nutrients during long-duration space missions. The process uses engineered microbes, like yeast, to generate carotenoids from an edible media to supplement potential vitamin losses from food that is stored for very long periods. …
Spine scans and eye checks filled a portion of the Expedition 66 crew’s day while also preparing for CubeSat deployments and studying space construction techniques. The astronauts and cosmonauts also worked on U.S. spacesuits and inspected Russian modules aboard the International Space Station. Medical checkups are a regular occurrence on the orbiting lab as scientists …
Following Webb’s arrival at its orbital destination around Lagrange Point 2 (L2) on Jan. 24, the mission operations team began working its way through a critical series of steps: powering on all the science instruments, turning off heaters to begin a long cooldown process, and ultimately capturing the first photons on Webb’s primary camera to …
Landsat 9, a joint mission of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), passed its post-launch assessment review and is now in its operational phase. Continuing the Landsat program’s nearly 50-year record of imaging Earth from orbit, USGS plans to start releasing Landsat 9 data to the public in mid-February and will announce data availability …
