Saturn will have one of its best viewing opportunities of the year in the period surrounding Sunday, Aug. 14. Or it would, if the nearly Full Moon doesn’t spoil our fun. On that date, Saturn will reach opposition – the point where it lies directly opposite the Sun in our night sky – around midnight …
The International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board met Friday, July 29, to discuss the status of the combined work aboard the microgravity laboratory. Partner representatives from NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan / the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos discussed a variety …
Payloads: Immunosenescence: The fourth BioCell media exchange was performed for the Immunosenescence experiment. The media is replaced periodically as the cells consume the nutrients in the media and waste products accumulate. Microgravity as a Model for Immunological Senescence and its Impact on Tissue Stem Cells and Regeneration (Immunosenescence) studies the effects of microgravity on cells …
Understanding how microgravity affects humans and plants is key to supporting not only astronauts on long-term space missions but also improving life on Earth. The Expedition 67 crew explored those very subjects today while also working on U.S. cargo activities and checking Russian spacewalking gear aboard the International Space Station. NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren …
On August 8, 2022, InSight was generating an average of 400 watt-hours of energy per Martian day, or sol. The tau, or level of dust cover in the atmosphere, was estimated at .90 (typical tau levels outside of dust season range from 0.6-0.7).
Payloads: Combustion Integrated Rack/Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (CIR/SoFIE): The crew gained access to the interior of the CIR rack, and replaced the CIR Fuel and Oxidizer Management Assembly (FOMA) Calibration Unit. The FOMA calibration is performed periodically to help verify accurate readings from the various measurement systems in the CIR. The CIR facility includes …
By Jude Coleman A low, surging wind picks up as the first few raindrops splatter onto dusty ground. Dense cumulonimbus clouds, like soot-stained cotton balls, knot tighter and tighter in the sky. While the thick scent of petrichor and ozone invades the air, an electric burst of lightning slashes through the sky; deafening cracks of …
The seven Expedition 67 residents kicked off a busy week of critical research benefitting humans living on and off the Earth. The orbital residents also continued supporting the International Space Station’s vast array of flight, research, and life support systems. Astronauts Bob Hines of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) took turns …
As NASA’s first launch attempt for Artemis I approaches, teams are ahead of schedule to complete final checks and closeouts of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is targeting launch on Aug. 29 during a two-hour launch …
Payloads: Cold Atom Lab (CAL): Following last week’s repair of the compression fittings in the Moderate Temperature (MTL) coolant line for CAL, a series of visual leak checks have followed and all been good (no leaks reported). The CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above …
