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NASA Radar Finds Ice Deposits at Moon’s North Pole

NASA -

4 min read

NASA Radar Finds Ice Deposits at Moon’s North Pole Additional evidence of water activity on moon

Using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists have detected ice deposits near the moon’s north pole. NASA’s Mini-SAR instrument, a lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, found more than 40 small craters with water ice. The craters range in size from 1 to 9 miles (2 to15 km) in diameter. Although the total amount of ice depends on its thickness in each crater, it’s estimated there could be at least 1.3 trillion pounds (600 million metric tons) of water ice.

Mini-SAR map of the Circular Polarization Ratio (CPR) of the north pole of the Moon. Fresh, “normal” craters (red circles) show high values of CPR inside and outside their rims. This is consistent with the distribution of rocks and ejected blocks around fresh impact features, indicating that the high CPR here is surface scattering. The “anomalous” craters (green circles) have high CPR within, but not outside their rims. Their interiors are also in permanent sun shadow. These relations are consistent with the high CPR in this case being caused by water ice, which is only stable in the polar dark cold traps. We estimate over 600 million cubic meters (1 cubic meter = 1 metric ton) of water in these features.

The Mini-SAR has imaged many of the permanently shadowed regions that exist at both poles of the Moons. These dark areas are extremely cold and it has been hypothesized that volatile material, including water ice, could be present in quantity here.  The main science object of the Mini-SAR experiment is to map and characterize any deposits that exist.   

Mini-SAR is a lightweight (less than 10 kg) imaging radar.  It uses the polarization properties of reflected radio waves to characterize surface properties.  Mini-SAR sends pulses of radar that are left-circular polarized.  Typical planetary surfaces reverse the polarization during the reflection of radio waves, so that normal echoes from Mini-SAR are right circular polarized.  The ratio of received power in the same sense transmitted (left circular) to the opposite sense (right circular) is called the circular polarization ratio (CPR).  Most of the Moon has low CPR, meaning that the reversal of polarization is the norm, but some targets have high CPR.  These include very rough, fresh surfaces (such as a young, fresh crater) and ice, which is transparent to radio energy and multiply scatters the pulses, leading to an enhancement in same sense reflections and hence, high CPR.  CPR is not uniquely diagnostic of either roughness or ice; the science team must take into account the environment of the occurrences of high CPR signal to interpret its cause.

The fresh impact crater Main L (14 km diameter, 81.4° N, 22° E ), which shows high CPR inside and outside its rim. SC is the “same sense, circular” polarization; CPR is “circular polarization ratio.” The histograms at right show that the high CPR values within (red line) and outside the crater rim (green line) are nearly identical.

Numerous craters near the poles of the Moon have interiors that are in permanent sun shadow.  These areas are very cold and water ice is stable there essentially indefinitely.  Fresh craters show high degrees of surface roughness (high CPR) both inside and outside the crater rim, caused by sharp rocks and block fields that are distributed over the entire crater area.  However, Mini-SAR has found craters near the north pole that have high CPR inside, but not outside their rims.  This relation suggests that the high CPR is not caused by roughness, but by some material that is restricted within the interiors of these craters.  We interpret this relation as consistent with water ice present in these craters.  The ice must be relatively pure and at least a couple of meters thick to give this signature.

An “anomalous” crater on the floor of Rozhdestvensky (9 km Diameter, 84.3° N, 157° W), near the north pole of the Moon. This feature shows high CPR within the crater rim, but low CPR outside, suggesting that roughness (which occurs throughout a fresh crater) is not the cause of the elevated CPR. This feature’s interior is in permanent sun shadow. SC stands for “same sense, circular”, OC stands for “opposite sense, circular” and CPR is the “circular polarization ratio.” The histogram of CPR values clearly shows that interior points (red line) have higher CPR values than those outside the crater rim (green line).

The estimated amount of water ice potentially present is comparable to the quantity estimated solely from the previous mission of Lunar Prospector’s neutron data (several hundred million metric tons.)  The variation in the estimates between Mini-SAR and the Lunar Prospector’s  neutron spectrometer is due to the fact that it only measures to depths of about one-half meter, so it would underestimate the total quantity of water ice present.  At least some of the polar ice is mixed with lunar soil and thus, invisible to our radar.

“The emerging picture from the multiple measurements and resulting data of the instruments on lunar missions indicates that water creation, migration, deposition and retention are occurring on the moon,” said Paul Spudis, principal investigator of the Mini-SAR experiment at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. “The new discoveries show the moon is an even more interesting and attractive scientific, exploration and operational destination than people had previously thought.”

“After analyzing the data, our science team determined a strong indication of water ice, a finding which will give future missions a new target to further explore and exploit,” said Jason Crusan, program executive for the Mini-RF Program for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate in Washington.

The Mini-SAR’s findings are being published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The results are consistent with recent findings of other NASA instruments and add to the growing scientific understanding of the multiple forms of water found on the moon. The agency’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper discovered water molecules in the moon’s polar regions, while water vapor was detected by NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS.

Mini-SAR and Moon Mineralogy Mapper are two of 11 instruments on the Indian Space Research Organization’s Chandrayaan-1. The Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., performed the final integration and testing on Mini-SAR. It was developed and built by the Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, Calif., and several other commercial and government contributors.

Get more information about Chandrayaan-1

March 2, 2010

NASA to Select Lunar Terrain Vehicle for Artemis Missions

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Artist’s concept of a Lunar Terrain Vehicle on the surface of the Moon. Credits: NASA

NASA will host a news conference to announce the company, or companies, selected to move forward in developing the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle), which will help Artemis astronauts explore more of the Moon’s surface on future missions. The televised event will take place at 4 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. CDT), Wednesday, April 3, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Event participants will include:

  • Vanessa Wyche, director, NASA Johnson
  • Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, NASA Headquarters
  • Lara Kearney, manager, Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, NASA Johnson

International media interested in participating in person must request credentials by 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21. U.S. media interested in attending in person must request credentials by 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 27. All media interested in participating by phone must request details by 2 p.m., April 3. To participate, contact the NASA Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the surface of the Moon to explore for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA’s Artemis campaign at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

-end-

Kathryn Hambleton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
kathryn.a.hambleton@nasa.gov

Victoria Ugalde / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
victoria.d.ugalde@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

NASA, Industry Improve Lidars for Exploration, Science

NASA -

5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

NASA engineers will test a suite of new laser technologies from an aircraft this summer for Earth science remote sensing. Called lidar, the instruments could also be used to improve models of the Moon’s shape and aid the search for Artemis landing sites.

Similar to sonar, but using light instead of sound, lidars calculate distances by timing how long a laser beam takes to reflect off a surface and return to an instrument. Multiple pings from the laser can provide the relative speed and even 3D image of a target. They increasingly help NASA scientists and explorers navigate, map, and collect scientific data.

Engineers and scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, continue to refine lidars into smaller, lighter, more versatile tools for science and exploration, with help from hardware provided by small business and academic partners.

“Existing 3D-imaging lidars struggle to provide the 2-inch resolution needed by guidance, navigation and control technologies to ensure precise and safe landings essential for future robotic and human exploration missions,” team engineer Jeffrey Chen said. “Such a system requires 3D hazard-detection lidar and a navigation doppler lidar, and no existing system can perform both functions.”

Engineer Jeffrey Chen tests a CASALS lidar prototype on the roof of Goddard’s Building 33.NASA

Enter CASALS, the Concurrent Artificially intelligent Spectrometry and Adaptive Lidar System. Developed through Goddard’s IRAD, Internal Research and Development program, CASALS shines a tunable laser through a prism-like grating to spread the beam based on its changing wavelengths. Traditional lidars pulse a fixed-wavelength laser which is split into multiple beams by bulky mirrors and lenses to split it into multiple beams. One CASALS instrument could cover more of a planet’s surface in each pass than lidars used for decades to measure Earth, the Moon, and Mars.

CASALS’s smaller size, weight, and lower power requirements enable small satellite applications as well as handheld or portable lidars for use on the Moon’s surface, Goddard engineer and CASALS development lead Guangning Yang said.

The CASALS team received funding from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office to test their improvements by airplane in 2024, bringing their system closer to spaceflight readiness.

What Color is Your Lidar?

As lidars become more specialized, CASALS can incorporate different wavelengths, or colors of laser light for applications like Earth science, exploring other planets and objects in space, and navigation and rendezvous operations.

The CASALS Team used Goddard IRAD and NASA SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research Program) funding along with commercial partners Axsun Technologies and Freedom Photonics to develop new fast-tuning lasers in the 1-micron portion of the infrared spectrum for Earth science and planetary exploration. By comparison, commonly available lidars used for self-driving vehicle development typically use 1.5-micron lasers for range and speed calculations.

On Earth, wavelengths near 1 micron pass readily through the atmosphere and are good at differentiating vegetation from bare ground, said Ian Adams, Goddard’s chief technologist for Earth sciences. Wavelengths near 0.97 and 1.45 microns offer valuable information about water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere but do not travel as efficiently to the surface.

In a related project, the team partnered with Left Hand Design Corporation to develop a steering mirror to extend CASALS’s 3D-imaging coverage and improve resolution. He said the lidar’s higher pulse rate can build up signal sensitivity to provide range and velocity measurements at up to 60 miles.

Artemis-related missions seeking to land near the Moon’s South Pole could also use CASALS’s sharper imaging to help assess the safety of potential landing sites.

Bringing the Moon into Focus

More detailed 3D models of the Moon drove Goddard planetary scientist Erwan Mazarico’s IRAD effort to refine CASALS’s ability to measure surface details smaller than 3 feet. He said this will help understand the Moon’s sub-surface structures and changes over time.

Every month, Earth’s path across the lunar sky moves within 10 or 20 degrees of the center of the side facing Earth.

“We’ve predicted based on our understanding of its inner structure that Earth’s shifting pull could change the tidal bulge or shape of the Moon,” Mazarico said. “High-resolution measurements of that deformation could tell us more about potential variations within the Moon. Is it responding like a fully uniform body in the interior?”

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Lunar Orbiting Laser Altimeter has produced detailed maps of the Lunar South Pole, including where water ice appears to fill the bottoms of permanently shadowed craters.NASA / LRO

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has measured Earth’s natural satellite since 2009, modeling the Moon’s terrain and providing a wealth of discoveries with the help of LOLA, its Lunar Orbiting Lidar Altimeter. LOLA fires 28 laser pulses per second, split into five beams touching the surface 65 feet to 100 feet apart. Scientists use LRO images to estimate smaller surface features between laser measurements.

CASALS’s laser, however, allows the equivalent of several hundred thousand pulses per second, reducing the distance between surface measurements.

“A denser and more accurate data set would allow us to study much smaller features,” Mazarico said, including those from impacts, volcanic activity, and tectonics. “We’re talking orders of magnitude more measurements. That could be quite a big game changer in terms of the type of data we get from lidar.”

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Innovative Collaboration Paves Way For Efficient Spacecraft Transport

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NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. – In an unprecedented display of interagency cooperation, First Air Force (Air Forces Space), Detachment 3, alongside the 729th Airlift Squadron and several other key military and NASA entities, have successfully executed a FIT Check/Air Transportability Certification of the NASA Orion Recovery Cradle Assembly (ORCA) . This exercise serves as a proof of concept for utilizing C-17 aircraft for post-mission transport of the Orion Crew Module, potentially revolutionizing logistics within space exploration.

Sketch the Shape of the Sun for Science During the Solar Eclipse

NASA -

5 min read

Sketch the Shape of the Sun for Science During the Solar Eclipse

Calling all eclipse admirers!

The SunSketcher team is looking for one million volunteers to capture photos on their cell phones during the April 8 total solar eclipse. These images will help scientists learn about the size, shape, and inner structure of the Sun.

This NASA-funded citizen science project invites anyone who will be within the path of totality in the U.S. to take photos of the Baily’s Beads effect, which occurs when little points of sunlight pass through the valleys in between the mountains on the edge of the Moon. It’s the last piece of the Sun seen before totality and the first to appear after totality. For a few seconds, these glimmers of light look like beads along the Moon’s edge.

The Baily’s Beads effect is seen as the Moon makes its final move over the Sun during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, above Madras, Oregon. This effect occurs when gaps in the Moon’s rugged terrain allow sunlight to pass through in some places just before the total phase of the eclipse. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

The SunSketcher app will use smartphones to automatically take a sequence of images as Baily’s Beads appear. Volunteers will simply download a free app, activate it just before totality, set the phone down with the rear camera pointed at the Sun, and leave it alone. The app will use the phone’s GPS location to calculate when Baily’s Beads will be visible.

“All you need is a cell phone,” says Gordon Emslie, SunSketcher’s project lead and professor of physics and astronomy at Western Kentucky University. “How many science projects can you do with the equipment you already have in your pocket?”

Emslie says the cell phone images of Baily’s Beads will look fairly simple, but the tiny dots of light will provide crucial data about our star.

“It’s the precise timing of when these flashes appear and disappear that can tell you how big the Sun is and what shape it is,” Emslie says.

Citizen scientists will activate the Sunsketcher app before the eclipse and then prop their phone against a steady surface with the rear (back-facing) camera pointed at the Sun. The app will automatically take images of Baily’s Beads at the correct times. SunSketcher/Tabby Cline

The SunSketcher team will merge the images collected from various viewpoints on the eclipse path to create an evolving pattern of beads. This pattern will be compared with 3D maps that show the exact locations and distances between lunar craters, mountains, and valleys on the surface of the Moon from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The combined measurements will allow researchers to calculate the precise size and shape of the Sun based on the timing of the images captured over 90 minutes of eclipse observations.

“The fascinating thing about this is you can really only do this by having observers stretched over the whole eclipse path,” Emslie explains. “No one observer can monitor an eclipse for more than about four or five minutes.”

The Sun is round but not a perfect sphere. It bulges out slightly along the equator with a diameter of about 865,000 miles. Scientists suspect the shape of the Sun changes slightly as it goes through 11-year cycles of fluctuating solar activity. The Sun is a rotating ball of gas and plasma with complicated internal flows of material, energy, and magnetic fields beneath the surface that vary over that cycle and impact its overall shape.

“All of these flows connect to the surface somehow, and so the shape of the surface is determined by the details of the flows,” Emslie says. “If we can understand the subsurface flows, we can better understand the Sun’s internal structure.”

The Sun’s shape also determines its gravitational field, which affects the motions of the planets, so measuring the Sun’s precise shape will help scientists test theories of gravity.

This map shows the path of totality and partial contours crossing the U.S. for the 2024 total solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024. NASA/Scientific Visualization Studio/Michala Garrison; Eclipse Calculations By Ernie Wright, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Participants in the SunSketcher project can be located anywhere in the eclipse’s path of totality in the U.S., which stretches from Texas to Maine, on April 8. Emslie says the more people involved, the more worthwhile the project will be. “Literally, we’re looking for a million people to play.”

For more info on SunSketcher, visit: https://sunsketcher.org/

How to Become a SunSketcher and Be a Part of History  This animated tutorial from the SunSketcher team explains how volunteers can capture images during the total solar eclipse using a free cell phone app to help learn about the size, shape, and inner structure of the Sun.
Animation credit: SunSketcher/Tabby Cline Before the Eclipse
  • Download the free app from your phone’s app store (available now on iOS and coming soon on Android).
  • Initiate the app around five minutes before totality. No internet connection is required.
  • If possible, turn on “Do Not Disturb” in your phone’s settings to prevent vibrations that could disturb the image sequence.
  • Prop the phone against a steady surface (such as a rock, book, phone stand, or tripod) with the rear (back-facing) camera pointed at the Sun.
  • Let it be! The app will automatically take images of Baily’s Beads at the correct times.
  • Enjoy the eclipse! Remember to use specialized eye protection for solar viewing except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun.
After the Eclipse
  • The app will show a directory of images taken and will request user permission to share them. Only time and location data will be recorded with the images. No personally identifiable or private information will be collected.
  • Once an internet connection is established, the images will be automatically uploaded to a central server and a screen will appear with a thank-you message.

By Rose Brunning
Communications Lead, NASA Heliophysics Digital Resource Library (HDRL)

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Mar 19, 2024

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Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his Polish counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine and the urgent need for additional security assistance.  

Casey Honniball: Finding Her Space in Lunar Science

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Lunar scientist Casey Honniball conducts lunar observations and field work near volcanoes to investigate how astronauts could use instruments during moonwalks.

Name: Casey Honniball
Title: Lunar scientist
Organization: Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 698)

Casey Honniball is a lunar scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Courtesy of Casey Honniball

What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?

I study the Moon using Earth-based telescopes to understand the lunar volatile cycle. I also conduct field work at volcanic sites to investigate how astronauts can utilize instruments during moonwalks.

Why did you want to be a lunar scientist?

When I was 6 years old and in first grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I was tutored and had help with homework and tests, which continued until I was a junior in high school. At that point, I learned to manage my dyslexia.

Because I was not good at reading and writing, I turned to more physical things such as things I could touch and build. I discovered physics in high school, which turned me on to other sciences.

I went to college for physics, but learned that I preferred astronomy. In graduate school I realized I wanted to be a lunar scientist.

I have a B.S. in astronomy from the University of Arizona, a master’s in geology and geophysics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, and a Ph.D. in Earth and planetary science also from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa.

While doing my master’s, one of my advisers introduced me to Earth-based lunar observation to look at hydration on the surface of the Moon. I found that I really liked the Moon and found my place in science.

What brought you to Goddard?

During graduate school, I worked with Goddard’s Dr. Kelsey Young on a field deployment testing instruments for astronauts. In 2020, I became a post-doctoral fellow for her at Goddard.

In January 2023, I became a visiting assistant research scientist in the Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory through CRESSTII, and Kelsey is still my mentor.

As your mentor, what is the most important advice Kelsey Young has given you?

Kelsey helps me stay passionate about the work I am doing. She does this by providing new and exciting opportunities and being supportive about work-life balance.

I admire Kelsey’s spirit of adventure and her passion for field work. I appreciate all she has done for me and am grateful for the opportunities she and our lab have provided.

Using Earth-based telescopes, Casey studies the Moon to understand the lunar volatile cycle. “While doing my master’s, one of my advisers introduced me to Earth-based lunar observation to look at hydration on the surface of the Moon,” said Casey. “I found that I really liked the Moon and found my place in science.”Courtesy of Casey Honniball

What sorts of instruments do you test for use on the Moon?

I test the use of mid- to long-wave infrared instruments for reconnaissance of a location prior to astronauts setting foot outside a vehicle. For example, an instrument on a rover can scan the area to characterize the minerology and volatiles including water, carbon dioxide, sulfur, methane, and similar chemicals. This then allows astronauts and scientists to select locations to collect samples.

I test this procedure on Earth by doing field work.

What is the most exciting field work you have done to test those instruments?

In 2015, I went to the Atacama Desert in Chile to install a radio camera on an existing telescope. I spent about a month installing the camera and observing on the telescope. There were only about 15 people I interacted with during that time. The area is very Martian-like; it is very red, dry, and barren, although we saw wild donkeys.

During Christmas of 2015 and again in 2016, one month each time, I went to Antarctica to launch a high-altitude balloon radio telescope. I lived at McMurdo Station and worked at their balloon facility near the airstrip. Antarctica is a completely different experience than you could imagine. You are so cut off from civilization. You have only the people who are there, although, I was there during Antarctica’s summer when McMurdo had many people. You are in a completely barren landscape that is so magnificently beautiful.

In 2018, I deployed an instrument I built to the Kīlauea Lava Lake on the Big Island of Hawaii. This is a National Park with thousands of visitors yearly. The lava lake was active at the time. We could see lava spewing out at different vent locations in the lake. It was very exciting and kind of scary. We had special permits allowing us into restricted areas closer to the lake. We were told not to get any closer to the cliff edge of the lake than our height so that if we tripped, we would not fall into the active lava.

I’d love to do field work in Iceland. Iceland is a great location for planetary field analog research as it has a similar landscape and geologic context to the Moon and Mars.

Casey conducts field work at volcanic sites to investigate how astronauts can utilize instruments during moonwalks.Courtesy of Casey Honniball

What outreach do you do that inspires others with dyslexia?

I like to talk to elementary through high school students about life as a scientist and how I got to where I am. I like to tell my story about learning to manage dyslexia to hopefully inspire others.

What do you do for fun?

I am a deep-sea scuba certified diver. I mainly dove in Hawaii because I was living there. I also enjoy working out, hiking, baking sourdough bread, and being with my family.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I hope to be supporting Artemis science operations on the surface of Moon and continuing to studying the Moon’s surface remotely and conducting research through field deployments.

What is your “six-word memoir”? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words.

Fear is a state of mind.

NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon

Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.

Share Details Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactElizabeth M. JarrellLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

NASA’s Curious Universe Podcast Unveils New Sun + Eclipse Series

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Credit: NASA

NASA released Tuesday the first episode of a new six-part podcast series for first-time space explorers to learn about the Sun. Ahead of the total solar eclipse in April, NASA’s Sun + Eclipse Series will focus on the sphere full of swirling magnetic fields and explosions of hot gases.

New episodes will post every Tuesday through April 23. The first episode is available at:

Sun Series: The Sun, Our Star – NASA

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. More than 32 million people will have the chance to witness, and a phenomenon the contiguous U.S. will not see again for 20 years.

The series will delve into the cultural connections and historical significance of solar studies. Listeners can prepare firsthand for the solar eclipse with insight from NASA experts along the path of totality. The series offers insight into research from NASA scientists, firsthand accounts from “eclipse chasers”, and how the agency protects astronauts and spacecraft during solar activity.

The series is part of NASA’s Curious Universe podcast. In each episode, hosts Padi Boyd and Jacob Pinter, bring listeners on science and space adventures. Explore the cosmos alongside astronauts, scientists, engineers, and other NASA experts in science, space exploration, and aeronautics.

NASA’s Sun + Eclipse Series is now available on SpotifyApple PodcastsGoogle Podcasts, and Soundcloud. Curious Universe is written and produced by a team at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Discover more original NASA shows at:

https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts

-end-

Melissa Howell
Headquarters, Washington
202-961-6602
melissa.e.howell@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

Tech Today: NASA Helps Find Where the Wildfires Are

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2 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) In 2022, nearly 100 large wildland fires burned in the U.S. West. Almost two dozen of those burned Washington and Oregon alone, filling the air with smoke. Plumes from the fires often could easily be seen from space.Credit: NASA

Globally, nearly all wildfires start with a human ignition source – not lightning strikes or wildlife encountering power equipment. Knowing humans can be a primary cause is an example of the sort of knowledge that helps predict and prevent wildfires, a challenge that NASA and the firefighting industry are undertaking together. 

As wildfires become more common in rarely experienced countries like Ireland and are more intense in other areas impacted by climate change, governments and businesses are turning to space for help.

Landsat satellite Earth-observation data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning now predict and monitor fires and support post-fire recovery. San Diego-based Technosylva Inc. provides firefighters with a wildfire monitoring service that combines all these technologies. The company also uses other NASA fire data resources compiled by the agency’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley to assist during the fire season and beyond.

Satellite imagery helps Technosylva’s Wildfire Analyst identify areas previously burned by wildfire to eliminate those areas without fuel like leaves or grasses (black circles) and pinpoint areas different types of available fuel (colored circles).Credit: Technosylva Inc.

Technosylva uses data fusion, which integrates multiple data sources from climate, weather, landscapes, and human infrastructure, to develop a complete picture of current fire risks. Before fire season begins, these efforts help develop more resilient landscapes to make communities safer. During the fire season, models predict how fires will spread, and provide real-time equipment and personnel tracking across vast tracts of land.

During the 2017 Las Máquinas wildfire in Chile – a fire so large the only way to view the perimeter was from space – Technosylva assisted in firefighting efforts by providing satellite data to help identify new hot spots and guided containment efforts.

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Expedition 69 Astronauts Tour NASA Goddard, Speak With Employees

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A trio of astronauts visited with employees at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on March 18, 2024, to share their spaceflight experiences aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi all served as flight engineers on the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station last year.

Over 40 employees at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., participated in a meet and greet with visiting astronauts on March 18, 2024. NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg (left), United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen presented a video summarizing their mission before answering questions from Goddard staff.NASA/Tabatha Luskey

The astronauts engaged with over 40 center employees during a meet and greet at the beginning of their visit. Employees viewed a 20-minute video that highlighted the astronauts’ preparation for the mission and their time in space. Afterward, they answered questions about daily life aboard the International Space Station.

“These are people that you see growing up, and you hear about them, but to actually be in person with them is beyond words,” said Emily Wilson, an intern at Goddard. “It’s really awesome to hear their stories.”

During their time in space, the Expedition 69 crew studied how materials burn in microgravity to understand spacecraft fire hazards, and they worked with technology to monitor how spaceflight stressors like microgravity and radiation impact the immune system. Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi also completed spacewalks during the mission.

Hoburg (left), Alneyadi, and Bowen view the construction of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from the clean room overlook in Goddard’s Building 29.NASA/Tabatha Luskey

After their presentation to employees, the astronauts toured Goddard and heard from researchers about the exciting science and missions in work at the center. They listened to a presentation from Dr. Antti Pulkkinen, director of Goddard’s Heliophysics Science Division, and they visited the clean room where engineers are building the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Their time at Goddard concluded at the Hubble Space Telescope Operations Control Center.

“The long history is really amazing, of all the contributions Goddard has made,” Hoburg said. “We’re truly going after those big fundamental questions about the origins of the universe, and all the kind of inspiring big scientific questions that drive us as humans, and it’s cool to see the contribution Goddard makes to all those big questions.”

Learn more about NASA’s Expedition 69 at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/expedition-69/

By Julia Tilton
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Share Details Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth’s Water Movement

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An engineering geologist measures water depth at an agricultural well in a field north of Sacramento, California. Groundwater is an important source of water for irrigation in the state’s Central Valley, especially during times of drought, and the GRACE missions provide data that helps track the resource.Kelly M. Grow/California Department of Water Resources

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity mission will extend a decades-long record of following shifting water masses using gravity measurements.

NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR (German Aerospace Center) have agreed to jointly build, launch, and operate a pair of spacecraft that will yield insights into how Earth’s water, ice, and land masses are shifting by measuring monthly changes in the planet’s gravity field. Tracking large-scale mass changes – showing when and where water moves within and between the atmosphere, oceans, underground aquifers, and ice sheets – provides a view into Earth’s water cycle, including changes in response to drivers like climate change.

With the international agreement signed in late 2023, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity (GRACE-C) mission will extend a nearly 25-year legacy that began with the 2002 launch of the GRACE mission. The GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) mission succeeded GRACE in 2018. GRACE-C is targeting a launch no earlier than 2028.

The data from the GRACE missions is considered key information in characterizing Earth’s climate. Those measurements, together with other information and computer models, are regularly used for drought assessment and forecasting, water-use planning for agriculture, and understanding the drivers of sea level rise, such as how much ice the world’s ice sheets are losing.

“GRACE-C represents an international and collaborative effort to observe and study one of our planet’s most precious resources,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA in Washington. “From our coastlines to our kitchen tables, there is no aspect of our planet that is not impacted by changes in the water cycle. The partnership between NASA and the German Aerospace Center will serve a critical role in preparing for the challenges we face today and tomorrow.”

Explore the GRACE-FO mission in NASA's Eyes on the Earth

Engineers and scientists are finalizing design details for the instruments and satellites, and then teams will start work on fabricating and building. The mission will be composed of a pair of identical satellites flying one behind the other, roughly 60 to 190 miles (100 to 300 kilometers) apart, in a polar orbit. The spacecraft will fly at an altitude of roughly 300 miles (500 kilometers). Together they will monitor monthly changes to the distribution of water on Earth from variations in the planet’s gravity field.

Following the Water

The pull of gravity varies naturally from place to place on Earth depending on the mass distribution near the surface. For instance, large shifts in underground water storage (groundwater) or losses from ice sheets move a great amount of mass around, which can in turn shift the planet’s gravity field on weekly to monthly time scales.

Researchers can gauge those changes by measuring very small changes in the distance between the two GRACE-C satellites. As the lead spacecraft flies over an area with relatively more mass – like a spot with more groundwater than its surroundings – the slight increase in Earth’s gravity field pulls the satellite forward, increasing its distance from the trailing spacecraft. Capable of measuring distance changes 100 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair, a laser ranging interferometer (LRI) instrument continually measures the distance between the two spacecraft.

The satellite systems and orbit for GRACE-C will be similar to those of GRACE-FO, ensuring the continuity of measurements between the two missions.

“GRACE-C will build on decades of observations of the global movement of water and changes in water resources. This is critical to informing predictions of future trends in our climate and to assess food and water security,” said Frank Webb, GRACE-C project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “The mission is an example of the commitment that NASA and our German partners share for studying the Earth and helping society better prepare for a warming world.”

GRACE-C, previously known as the Mass Change mission, addresses one of the key goals outlined in the 2017 Decadal Survey for Earth Science conducted by the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine: to better understand the planet’s global water cycle through large-scale changes in Earth’s mass.

“Together with NASA, we are now continuing along the GRACE route in Earth observation, thereby strengthening our international cooperation in space-based research,” said Walther Pelzer, a member of the DLR executive board and director general of the German Space Agency at DLR. “The USA and Germany have been working closely together for a long time on climate and environmental research from space. The trust that our U.S. partners are placing in German space expertise for these missions by commissioning the satellite construction and the delivery of important parts of the GRACE-C instrumentation and mission control is also a sign of Germany’s capabilities as a prime location for spaceflight.”

The mission will be part of NASA’s Earth System Observatory (ESO), a set of Earth-focused missions that will provide data to guide efforts related to climate change, natural hazard mitigation, wildfire management, and food security. When combined, ESO mission data will create a holistic view of Earth from the planet’s atmosphere to its bedrock.

More About the Mission

JPL manages the GRACE-C mission for NASA and will procure the two spacecraft from Airbus Defence and Space, the company that built the satellites for the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions. Development and construction of the LRI system will be led by JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena. The German contributions are funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The German Space Agency at DLR will manage the German contributions to GRACE-C, providing the LRI optics subsystems; mission operations; telemetry, tracking, and command; the ground data system; the laser retroreflectors to help with satellite positioning; the launch vehicle; and launch services.

To learn more about GRACE-FO, visit:

https://gracefo.jpl.nasa.gov/

News Media Contacts

Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874
jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov

2024-030

Share Details Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 Related Terms Explore More 5 min read NASA Study: Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact Article 23 mins ago 3 min read Student-Built Robots Clash at Competition Supported by NASA-JPL Article 18 hours ago 4 min read Leslie Livesay Named Deputy Director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Article 23 hours ago

Gemini VI Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Walter M. Schirra Jr.

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NASA

Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (left), and Walter M. Schirra Jr., pose for the camera during suiting up exercises on Oct. 22, 1965. Stafford was selected among the second group of astronauts in September 1962 by NASA to participate in Projects Gemini and Apollo. In December 1965, he piloted Gemini VI, which made the first rendezvous in space with Gemini VII, and helped develop techniques to prove the basic theory and practicality of space rendezvous.

In June 1966, Stafford commanded the Gemini IX mission and performed a demonstration of an early rendezvous that would be used in the Apollo lunar missions, the first optical rendezvous, and a lunar orbit abort rendezvous. He was also commander of Apollo 10 in May 1969; he descended to nine miles above the Moon, performing the entire lunar landing mission except the actual landing. He logged his fourth spaceflight as Apollo commander of the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July 1975, which culminated in the historic first meeting in space between American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts.

Learn more about Stafford and the missions he participated in.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA Study: Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact

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The asteroid Dimorphos was captured by NASA’s DART mission just two seconds before the spacecraft struck its surface on Sept. 26, 2022. Observations of the asteroid before and after impact suggest it is a loosely packed “rubble pile” object.NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

After NASA’s historic Double Asteroid Redirection Test, a JPL-led study has shown that the shape of asteroid Dimorphos has changed and its orbit has shrunk.

When NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) deliberately smashed into a 560-foot-wide (170-meter-wide) asteroid on Sept. 26, 2022, it made its mark in more ways than one. The demonstration showed that a kinetic impactor could deflect a hazardous asteroid should one ever be on a collision course with Earth. Now a new study published in the Planetary Science Journal shows the impact changed not only the motion of the asteroid, but also its shape.

DART’s target, the asteroid Dimorphos, orbits a larger near-Earth asteroid called Didymos. Before the impact, Dimorphos had a roughly symmetrical “oblate spheroid” shape – like a squashed ball that is wider than it is tall. With a well-defined, circular orbit at a distance of about 3,900 feet (1,189 meters) from Didymos, Dimorphos took 11 hours and 55 minutes to complete one loop around Didymos.

“When DART made impact, things got very interesting,” said Shantanu Naidu, a navigation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who led the study. “Dimorphos’ orbit is no longer circular: Its orbital period” – the time it takes to complete a single orbit – “is now 33 minutes and 15 seconds shorter. And the entire shape of the asteroid has changed, from a relatively symmetrical object to a ‘triaxial ellipsoid’ – something more like an oblong watermelon.”

This illustration shows the approximate shape change that the asteroid Dimorphos experienced after DART hit it. Before impact, left, the asteroid was shaped like a squashed ball; after impact it took on a more elongated shape, like a watermelon.NASA/JPL-Caltech Dimorphos Damage Report

Naidu’s team used three data sources in their computer models to deduce what had happened to the asteroid after impact. The first source was aboard DART: The spacecraft captured images as it approached the asteroid and sent them back to Earth via NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN). These images provided close-up measurements of the gap between Didymos and Dimorphos while also gauging the dimensions of both asteroids just prior to impact.

The second data source was the DSN’s Goldstone Solar System Radar, located near Barstow, California, which bounced radio waves off both asteroids to precisely measure the position and velocity of Dimorphos relative to Didymos after impact. Radar observations quickly helped NASA conclude that DART’s effect on the asteroid greatly exceeded the minimum expectations.

The third and most significant source of data: ground telescopes around the world that measured both asteroids’ “light curve,” or how the sunlight reflecting off the asteroids’ surfaces changed over time. By comparing the light curves before and after impact, the researchers could learn how DART altered Dimorphos’ motion.

As Dimorphos orbits, it periodically passes in front of and then behind Didymos. In these so-called “mutual events,” one asteroid can cast a shadow on the other, or block our view from Earth. In either case, a temporary dimming – a dip in the light curve – will be recorded by telescopes.

See the DART impact with NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System

“We used the timing of this precise series of light-curve dips to deduce the shape of the orbit, and because our models were so sensitive, we could also figure out the shape of the asteroid,” said Steve Chesley, a senior research scientist at JPL and study co-author. The team found Dimorphos’ orbit is now slightly elongated, or eccentric. “Before impact,” Chesley continued, “the times of the events occurred regularly, showing a circular orbit. After impact, there were very slight timing differences, showing something was askew. We never expected to get this kind of accuracy.”

The models are so precise, they even show that Dimorphos rocks back and forth as it orbits Didymos, Naidu said.

Orbital Evolution

The team’s models also calculated how Dimorphos’ orbital period evolved. Immediately after impact, DART reduced the average distance between the two asteroids, shortening Dimorphos’ orbital period by 32 minutes and 42 seconds, to 11 hours, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds.

Over the following weeks, the asteroid’s orbital period continued to shorten as Dimorphos lost more rocky material to space, finally settling at 11 hours, 22 minutes, and 3 seconds per orbit – 33 minutes and 15 seconds less time than before impact. This calculation is accurate to within 1 ½ seconds, Naidu said. Dimorphos now has a mean orbital distance from Didymos of about 3,780 feet (1,152 meters) – about 120 feet (37 meters) closer than before impact.

“The results of this study agree with others that are being published,” said Tom Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Seeing separate groups analyze the data and independently come to the same conclusions is a hallmark of a solid scientific result. DART is not only showing us the pathway to an asteroid-deflection technology, it’s revealing new fundamental understanding of what asteroids are and how they behave.”

These results and observations of the debris left after impact indicate that Dimorphos is a loosely packed “rubble pile” object, similar to asteroid Bennu. ESA’s (European Space Agency) Hera mission, planned to launch in October 2024, will travel to the asteroid pair to carry out a detailed survey and confirm how DART reshaped Dimorphos.

More About the Mission

DART was designed, built, and operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which oversees the agency’s ongoing efforts in planetary defense. DART was humanity’s first mission to intentionally move a celestial object.

JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the DSN for NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program within the Space Operations Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.

NASA’s Asteroid-Striking DART Mission Team Has JPL Members Classroom Activity: How to Explore an Asteroid NASA’s Planetary Radar Captures Detailed View of Oblong Asteroid News Media Contacts

Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Charles Blue
NASA Headquarters
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / charles.e.blue@nasa.gov

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Share Details Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 Related Terms Explore More 5 min read US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth’s Water Movement Article 2 mins ago 3 min read Student-Built Robots Clash at Competition Supported by NASA-JPL Article 18 hours ago 4 min read Leslie Livesay Named Deputy Director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Article 23 hours ago

NASA Administrator, Health Secretary to Host Cancer Moonshot Event

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Media are invited to join NASA and Department of Health and Human Services leadership at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, March 21, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, to highlight how the agencies are making progress toward President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

During the event, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will give remarks and are available for interviews afterward.

Additional participants include:

  • NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio
  • NASA Astronaut Stephen Bowen
  • Dr. Kimryn Rathmell, director, National Cancer Institute

Media interested in covering the event must RSVP to Luis Botello Faz no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, via email at: luis.m.botellofaz@nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

The event will take place in the agency’s Earth Information Center in the East Lobby at NASA Headquarters, located at 300 E St. SW.

The International Space Station is a hub for scientific research and technology, including demonstrations to help end cancer as we know it.

NASA is working with agencies and researchers across the federal government to help cut the nation’s cancer death rate by at least 50% in the next 25 years, a goal of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative.

Learn more about Cancer Moonshot at:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/cancermoonshot/

-end-

Faith McKie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov

Renata Miller
Health and Human Services
202-570-8194
Renata.Miller@hhs.gov

Share Details Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 EditorJennifer M. DoorenLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

Navy Continues to Prioritize Civil Discourse and Community Engagement on Red Hill Defueling, Closure, and Drinking Water Actions

NAVY Press Release -

WASHINGTON (NNS) – The Department of the Navy (DON) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) are prioritizing the requirements of the 2023 Administrative Consent Order (ACO) to ensure a productive and respectful forum to share information on the topics of Red Hill defueling, closure, and drinking water requirements.


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