[Spacetalk] https://www.nasa.gov/index.html

Tue Apr 5 03:00:59 CDT 2016

Good morning all,
 I know it is a day late but want to recognize the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King. We, as a country, don't “celebrate” assassinations but still wanted to recognize him because he did so much to fix the injustices of the time…I wish he were alive today, we could sure use his wisdom and leadership….
I hope your week started wonderful and each day will be fun……everything going great here…..my swim coach is doing very well, I am sure his strength and being so physically fit helped him tremendously…they still don’t know what caused his heart to stop beating…all the nurses and doctors tell him how lucky he is to be alive….he is still in the hospital but hopes to be released this week….the had to implant a defib unit in his chest, in case something were to happen again but also told he can go back to swimming and competing which will be so comforting for him…..many more gold medals ahead for him…..thanks for all the prayers and well wishes…had a fun weekend with friends visiting from Norway, so wonderful to spend time here in the US as they do so much for me in Norway….Friday is a Space X launch to the ISS, it will be after school hours but you can let the kids know, if they would like to watch it on NASA TV….https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html <https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html> I know some schools are returning from spring break and others are starting…for those who may not have seen this…...there are a couple of things I will try to bring up over the break so I may send a reminder each week to be sure everyone sees it….first, every year there is an Aerospace Educators Workshop in Lakeland, Florida...I have been fortunate to present quite a few times and actually met many of you there in prior years so it is very special for me….it is April 9th and I will be there so it would be fun if you can make it as there is full day of activities from which you can choose…it is also wonderful day for teachers to be recognized which I feel is so deserving…second there is a great site called futureengineers.org <http://futureengineers.org/> which gives kids in grades K-12 an opportunity to develop 3D modeling for printing as well as many other challenges…I think you and the kids will find it very interesting as well as educational…..we must always remember to do our best, enjoy everything we do, live in the present, make each day special, let those we care about most know, be thankful for the good in our lives, smile and have fun....gabe

SUN 'n FUN AEROSPACE EDUCATORS' WORKSHOP - SUN 'n FUN <http://www.sun-n-fun.org/sun-n-fun-intl-fly-in-expo/sun-n-fun-aerospace-educators-workshop/>

SUN 'n FUN AEROSPACE EDUCATORS' WORKSHOP - SUN 'n FUN
The annual Sun ’n Fun aerospace educators’ workshop provides teachers the opportunity to learn techn...
 <http://www.sun-n-fun.org/sun-n-fun-intl-fly-in-expo/sun-n-fun-aerospace-educators-workshop/>

Future Engineers
Welcome to the second challenge on Future Engineers, which invites K-12 students to create 3D designs for space!
futureengineers.org
 <http://www.dnsrsearch.com/web.php?direct=1&URL=http%3A%2F%2Ffutureengineers.org%2F&loc=mtw0&lHost=futureengineers.org&ut=nxd&ep=nxd&rank=1>

Hubble Peers Into the Heart of the Milky Way Galaxy
 <http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubbleimage1p1611a1r.jpg>
Peering deep into the dusty heart of our Milky Way galaxy using infrared vision, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals a rich tapestry of more than half a million stars. Except for a few blue foreground stars, the stars are part of the Milky Way’s nuclear star cluster, the most massive and densest star cluster in our galaxy. So packed with stars, it is equivalent to having a million suns crammed between us and our closest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri. At the very hub of our galaxy, this star cluster surrounds the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, which is about 4 million times the mass of our sun. More information and annotated images: Hubble’s Journey to the Center of our Galaxy <http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/hubble-s-journey-to-the-center-of-our-galaxy>
NASA to Host Human Exploration Rover Challenge
 <http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/team_32_copy.jpg>
The Greenfield Central High School Rover Team from Greenfield, Indiana, crosses the finish line during the 2015 Human Exploration Rover Challenge.
Credits: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given
 <applewebdata://8C7BD53F-C404-4617-B6A9-024732A8B60A>
Media are invited to watch as almost 80 teams <http://www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge/teams/index.html> from the United States, Italy, Germany, India, Mexico, Colombia and Russia, as well as Puerto Rico, compete in NASA’s annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge, April 8-9 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The rover challenge requires student teams to design, construct, test and race human-powered rovers through an obstacle course that simulates the terrain potentially found on distant planets, asteroids or moons. Teams race to finish the three-quarter-mile-long obstacle course in the fastest time, vying for prizes in various divisions. The event concludes with a ceremony at 6 p.m. CDT, April 9 in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville, where event sponsors will present awards for best design, rookie team, pit crew award and other accomplishments. Media interested in attending the event should contact Angela Storey of the Marshall Public and Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. April 7. The two-day event and awards ceremony will stream live online at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc <http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc> This year’s event incorporates two new and important changes. Teams now are required to design and fabricate their own wheels. Any component contacting the course surface for traction and mobility, including, but not limited to wheels, tracks, treads or belts cannot be purchased or considered an off-the-shelf product. As in years past, teams are not allowed to incorporate inflated, or un-inflated, pneumatic tires. The second new feature is an optional Sample Return challenge. Teams competing in this separate competition will collect four samples -- liquid, small pebbles, large rocks and soil samples -- using a mechanical arm or grabber they design and build.  Hosted by Marshall, the Human Exploration Rover Challenge highlights NASA’s goals for future exploration to Mars and beyond. Inspired by the lunar roving vehicles of the Apollo moon missions, the competition challenges students to solve engineering problems, while highlighting NASA's commitment to inspiring new generations of scientists, engineers and explorers.  For more event details, race rules, information on the course, contributors and photos from previous competitions, as well as links to social media accounts providing real-time updates, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge <http://www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge>
Moonset Viewed From the International Space Station
 <http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/25864937890_ae40c4ca8c_o.jpg>
Expedition 47 Flight Engineer Tim Peake of the European Space Agency took this striking photograph of the moon from his vantage point aboard the International Space Station on March 28, 2016.  Peake (@astro_timpeake <https://twitter.com/astro_timpeake/status/715241362191474688>) shared the image on March 30 and wrote to his social media followers, "I was looking for #Antarctica – hard to spot from our orbit. Settled for a moonset instead."

Space to Ground: Rush Hour: 04/01/2016
Watch Now <http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/video/facebook_space-to-ground_119_160401.mp4>
WELCOME TO SPACE TO GROUND, YOUR WEEKLY LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON BOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. I’M DAN HUOT. RUSH HOUR CONTINUED THIS WEEK WITH TWO RUSSIAN RESUPPLY SHIPS SWAPPING PLACES. IT STARTED WHEN PROGRESS 61 UNDOCKED FROM THE ZVEZDA SERVICE MODULE ON WEDNESDAY, WHERE IT HAD BEEN DOCKED FOR JUST OVER 6 MONTHS. THEN A LITTLE OVER 24 HOURS LATER, PROGRESS 63 BLASTED OFF FROM THE BAIKONUR COSMODROME WITH MORE THAN THREE TONS OF CARGO ONBOARD. IT’S PLANNED TO DOCK TWO DAYS AFTER LAUNCH TO ENABLE TESTING OF UPGRADED SOFTWARE AND COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT THAT WILL BE STANDARD FOR FUTURE PROGRESS AND SOYUZ SPACECRAFT. IT CAN BE TOUGH TO HOLD ONTO EVERYTHING IN SPACE, SO ONE NEW DEVICE IS LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION FROM MOTHER NATURE. THE GECKO GRIPPER INVESTIGATION IS TESTING A NEW TOOL THAT USES A GECKO-ADHESIVE TO STICK TO ITEMS ON COMMAND. GECKOS HAVE SPECIAL HAIRS ON THEIR FEET THAT LET THEM STICK TO SURFACES WITHOUT THAT STICKINESS WEARING OFF WITH REPEATED USE. THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY COULD ENABLE CAPABILITIES LIKE ROBOTIC CRAWLERS WALKING ACROSS SPACECRAFT EXTERIORS, GRIPPERS FOR ASTRONAUTS TO CATCH AND RELEASE OBJECTS, AND REUSABLE SENSOR MOUNTS THAT CAN WORK ON ANY SURFACE. THIS WEEK, EL KODIE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO SWIM THROUGH A POOL OF WATER IN ZERO-G. WELL THERE AREN’T ANY SWIMMING POOLS IN SPACE QUITE YET, BUT A FEW ASTRONAUTS GAVE US A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF HOW IT WOULD LOOK. THE EXPEDITION 40 CREW EMPTIED A FEW DRINK BAGS TO MAKE A GIANT WATER BUBBLE BEFORE ADDING A WATER-PROOF CAMERA. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WATER ABSORBS THE CAMERA AND STICKS TO THE SURFACE, BECAUSE WITHOUT ANY GRAVITY, SURFACE TENSION BECOMES A POWERFUL FORCE TO CONTROL THE MOTION OF LIQUIDS. MAKES FOR QUITE A VIEW. KEEP SENDING US YOUR QUESTIONS USING THE HASHTAG SPACE-TO-GROUND. WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

Orion Spacecraft Suited Crew Testing
 <http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/26091636341_12fa3144bc_o.jpg>
Engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston are evaluating how crews inside a mockup of the Orion spacecraft interact with the rotational hand controller and cursor control device while inside their Modified Advanced Crew Escape spacesuits. The controllers are used to operate Orion’s displays and control system, which the crew will use to maneuver and interact with the spacecraft during missions to deep space destinations. The testing aims to provide data that teams need to make sure astronauts who ride to space in Orion can appropriately interact with the control system while in their suits. 

What's Up - April 2016
What's Up for April? Jupiter, Mars, the Lyrid meteor shower and 2016's best views of Mercury. Hello and welcome. I'm Jane Houston Jones from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Jupiter, where NASA's Juno mission will begin orbiting on July 4, continues to shine almost as brightly this month as last. And eagle-eyed telescope viewers will see a transit, a shadow transit, an occultation and an eclipse of Jupiter's moons-all on one night: April 6-7. Io transits first, crossing the planet beginning at 9:52 p.m. EDT. Its shadow can be seen less than an hour later. Next Jupiter occults, or eclipses, Europa as Europa slips behind the giant planet at 10:48 p.m. EDT. At three a.m. Europa reappears from its eclipse, dramatically leaving the shadow of Jupiter. Ganymede transits the planet beginning at 1:01 EDT April 7. Check out the other planets in April, too. Mercury is always a challenging object to view, but this month you can spot it after sunset about 10 degrees above the horizon. Through a telescope you can see its phase. It will appear like a tiny crescent moon, with about 1/3 of its disk illuminated. Mars is finally visible before midnight this month. It rises in the southeast at about 10 p.m. by the end of April. The best observing of Mars will be when it is highest in the sky. This means a few hours before dawn. Its brightness and apparent size increase dramatically this month. By month's end Mars appears nearly twice as bright as at the beginning of the month. About mid-month you'll see Mars near its rival in the sky: the similar-colored red supergiant star Antares. The name 'Antares' means 'equal to or rival of Mars.’ Earth moves almost twice as fast as Mars does, so it often passes Mars in their race around the sun. This causes 'retrograde motion': an illusion we see from our viewpoint on Earth. Retrograde motion happens as Earth catches up to Mars, causing Mars to appear to slow its eastward motion against the stars. After a few days, when Earth has overtaken Mars, Mars seems to move westward. Eventually, Earth moves far enough around its orbit that Mars appears to be moving eastward again. April features one meteor shower, the Lyrids. This year the Lyrids are marred by the full moon. The best time to view will be just before dawn on April 23, when the constellation Lyra is overhead and the moon will be near to setting. You can find out about NASA's #JourneytoMars missions at www.mars.nasa.gov <http://www.mars.nasa.gov/> and you can learn about all of NASA's missions, including Juno, at www.nasa.gov <http://www.nasa.gov/>

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