On September 17, 2022, InSight was generating an average of 420 watt-hours of energy per Martian day, or sol. The tau, or level of dust cover in the atmosphere, was estimated at .85 (typical tau levels outside of dust season range from 0.6-0.7).
By Sofie Bates / FAIRBANKS, ALASKA / There’s a freezer door in the mountainside outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Tom Douglas opens it and we step inside, breathing in cold air and musky dust as we start to walk back through time. This isn’t fantasy. It’s the Permafrost Tunnel run by the U.S. Army’s Cold …
The James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has four observing modes. On Aug. 24, a mechanism that supports one of these modes, known as medium-resolution spectroscopy (MRS), exhibited what appears to be increased friction during setup for a science observation. This mechanism is a grating wheel that allows scientists to select between short, medium, and longer wavelengths …
NASA remains on track for an Artemis I cryogenic demonstration test on Wednesday, Sept. 21. In the days since the previous launch attempt, teams have analyzed the seals that were replaced on an interface for the liquid hydrogen fuel line between the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the mobile launcher and adjusted procedures for …
Payloads: Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM): The APM hardware was checked, and the status of the hardware/display was reported to the ground. The crew also inspected the air inlet screen and cleaned as needed. Air quality in crewed spacecraft is important for keeping astronauts healthy and comfortable. Although requirements exist for maximum allowable concentrations of particulate …
The rocket to launch the next crew to the International Space Station has rolled out to its launch pad and is counting down to its liftoff in the middle of the week. Meanwhile aboard the orbiting lab on Monday, the Expedition 67 crew studied tele-robotics and fluid physics while preparing for the upcoming crew arrival …
Editor’s Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured its first images and spectra of Mars Sept. 5. The telescope, an international collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), provides a unique perspective with …
Stargazers can expect excellent views of Jupiter the entire night of Monday, Sept. 26 when the giant planet reaches opposition. From the viewpoint of Earth’s surface, opposition happens when an astronomical object rises in the east as the Sun sets in the west, placing the object and the Sun on opposite sides of Earth. Jupiter’s …
Payloads: Foams and Emulsions: Sample swaps for Day 4 Experiment 3 protocol were performed to observe foams formed with various solutions. Foams (dispersions of bubbles in a liquid) and emulsions (dispersions of droplets in a liquid) appear in many food, consumer, and personal care products and are used in a variety of industries. Structure and …
Farming, foam, and fire research kept the astronauts busy at the end of the week aboard the International Space Station. The pace of microgravity research is picking up with the Expedition 67 crew spending more time studying a wide array of space phenomena to promote the well-being of humans on and off the Earth. NASA …
