Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
Space botany, human research, and bioprinting were the dominant science topics aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 70 septet also focused on lab hardware and cargo operations throughout the day. Growing plants in space is critical as astronauts prepare for longer missions farther away from Earth. Space agriculture may help feed crews and provide a cleaner bre

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
NASA's Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) has successfully obtained its initial images of the mesosphere, marking a major milestone for the project. Installed on the International Space Station (ISS) on November 18, AWE commenced operations shortly thereafter, with the first commands being transmitted to the instrument on November 20. The recent acquisition of these "first light" images is a cru

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
Ovzon, a prominent player in mobile satellite communication, is on the cusp of a significant milestone with its latest project, Ovzon 3. This satellite, poised for launch no earlier than December 15, 2023, represents a critical advancement in the field of space technology. In partnership with SpaceX, Ovzon 3 will be launched from the historic Cape Canaveral, Florida, using the renowned Falcon 9

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
The best known use of GPS satellites is to help people know their location whether driving a car, navigating a ship or plane, or trekking across remote territory. Another important, but lesser-known, use is to distribute information to other Earth-viewing satellites to help them pinpoint measurements of our planet. NASA and several other federal agencies, including the U.S. Space Force, U.

Berkeley CA (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
The shimmering green, red and purple curtains of the northern and southern lights - the auroras - may be the best-known phenomena lighting up the nighttime sky, but the most mysterious are the mauve and white streaks called Steve and their frequent companion, a glowing green "picket fence." First recognized in 2018 as distinct from the common auroras, Steve - a tongue-in-cheek reference to

Boulder CO (SPX) Dec 10, 2023
A new group of graduate students and postdocs are hard at work this fall with full freedom to explore a variety of solar and space physics research paths because of a unique fellowship program started by the University of Colorado Boulder at the time of the relocation of the National Science Foundation's National Solar Observatory to campus. The George Ellery Hale Fellowships, created by t

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
Deep beneath a hill in the rural Kaiping area of Jiangmen, China's largest underground laboratory, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), is on the verge of completing a decade-long construction project that promises to shed light on some of the universe's most enduring mysteries. Our expedition to this clandestine scientific haven began with a 15-minute journey in a dimly l

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 11, 2023
Astronomers found what looks like a glowing cloud of dust from a massive planetary pile-up-and NASA volunteers helped make the discovery! A recent paper in Nature describes how an international group of professional and amateur astronomers teamed up to measure the heat glow of two ice giant planets colliding and see the resultant dust cloud moving in front of the parent star several years later.

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 11, 2023
Earth planning date: Friday, December 8, 2023: As we climb through the terrain, which is beautiful to look at with its steep topography, we are on the lookout for all the differences in the rocks. As a geologist, I marvel at the diversity, and I can spend quite some time just looking around, discovering the different things that there are to see. Have a look at this workspace mosaic, which is th

Miami FL (UPI) Dec 11, 2023
Members of an International Space Station crew said astronaut Frank Rubio has now been cleared of allegations he ate one of the first tomatos harvested in space. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli said during a live streamed event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the station that the remains of the tiny tomato had been found eight months after being misplaced by Rubio. "Our good frien