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Wed Nov 8 08:40:35 CST 2017

Good morning all,
 On Monday I visited 2 schools, Keene’s Crossing Elementary and Pineloth Elementary Schools….it is awesome to stay with teachers as many of you will change schools, then invite me to your “new school”….this is the case with Kathie at Keene’s Crossing who has invited me to speak at all “her schools” over the last 8 years…she, like so many of you, is always looking for innovative ways to make learning fun..I did a large presentation to all the 5th graders, then with the aid of 2 student ambassadors, Ava & Josh, visited classrooms the remained of the day…even ate the school lunch with the kids…and the highlight was this creative way of getting the kids involved with MARS…then I participate in an after hours Robotics Club meeting at Pineloth which was also amazing, 4th & 5th graders in their classroom…a small group so it was fun to have so much one on one time with them…thanks to Sarah & Ashley for their support...there is another opportunity to involve the kids as NASA as asked to name the next flyby target on the New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond….see below…also click on this link to share the launch & landing of Space X rocket...
SpaceX Aces Another Rocket Landing After Launching Korean Satellite <http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=a9d8de30f631cc56bebb75ceb9e4f42d0633f4dfaaf273286ce68409a107a9af0186423ec6cf21943e26d476f49939211c8e647527344f9f2a694db733091a48>  I also mention about students speaking with astronauts on the ISS since I have participated in one of these and it really is amazing for the school and the kids….I encourage you to try to connect as I promise you, it is something you will never forget… wishing you all a wonderful day…. we have to always remember to do our best, enjoy everything we do, live in the present, be appreciative of the good in our lives, make each day special, smile & have fun! Gabe

Kids at Keene’s Crossing

Help Nickname New Horizons’ Next Flyby Target 
NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt is looking for your ideas on what to informally name its next flyby destination, a billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) past Pluto.

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Artist's concept of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flying by 2014 MU69 on Jan. 1, 2019. Early observations hint at the Kuiper Belt object being either a binary orbiting pair or a contact (stuck together) pair of nearly like-sized bodies with diameters near 20 and 18 kilometers (12 and 11 miles).
Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI/Carlos Hernandez
On New Year’s Day 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft will fly past a small, frozen world in the Kuiper Belt, at the outer edge of our solar system. The target Kuiper Belt object (KBO) currently goes by the official designation "(486958) 2014 MU69." NASA and the New Horizons team are asking the public for help in giving “MU69” a nickname to use for this exploration target. “New Horizons made history two years ago with the first close-up look at Pluto, and is now on course for the farthest planetary encounter in the history of spaceflight,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “We’re pleased to bring the public along on this exciting mission of discovery.”   After the flyby, NASA and the New Horizons project plan to choose a formal name to submit to the International Astronomical Union, based in part on whether MU69 is found to be a single body, a binary pair, or perhaps a system of multiple objects. The chosen nickname will be used in the interim. “New Horizons has always been about pure exploration, shedding light on new worlds like we’ve never seen before,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “Our close encounter with MU69 adds another chapter to this mission’s remarkable story. We’re excited for the public to help us pick a nickname for our target that captures the excitement of the flyby and awe and inspiration of exploring this new and record-distant body in space.”  The naming campaign is hosted by the SETI Institute of Mountain View, California, and led by Mark Showalter, an institute fellow and member of the New Horizons science team. The website includes names currently under consideration; site visitors can vote for their favorites or nominate names they think should be added to the ballot. “The campaign is open to everyone,” Showalter said. “We are hoping that somebody out there proposes the perfect, inspiring name for MU69.” The campaign will close at 3 p.m. EST/noon PST on Dec. 1. NASA and the New Horizons team will review the top vote-getters and announce their selection in early January.  Telescopic observations of MU69, which is more than 4 billion miles (6.5 billion kilometers) from Earth, hint at the Kuiper Belt object being either a binary orbiting pair or a contact (stuck together) pair of nearly like-sized bodies – meaning the team might actually need two or more  temporary tags for its target.  “Many Kuiper Belt Objects have had informal names at first, before a formal name was proposed. After the flyby, once we know a lot more about this intriguing world, we and NASA will work with the International Astronomical Union to assign a formal name to MU69,” Showalter said. “Until then, we’re excited to bring people into the mission and share in what will be an amazing flyby on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, 2019!” To submit your suggested names and to vote for your favorites, go to:  http://frontierworlds.seti.org <http://frontierworlds.seti.org/>

NASA TV Coverage Set for Next Resupply Mission to International Space Station
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Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket for the CRS-8 mission is being integrated in the Horizontal Integration Facility at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Launch is scheduled for 7:37 a.m. EST , Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017.
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NASA commercial cargo provider Orbital ATK is scheduled to launch its eighth mission to the International Space Station <http://www.nasa.gov/station> at 7:37 a.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 11 NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Live launch coverage will begin at 7 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website <https://www.nasa.gov/live>. NASA TV also will air two prelaunch briefings Friday, Nov. 10. At 11 a.m. mission managers will provide an overview and status of launch operations, and at 3 p.m. scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations and technology demonstrations to be delivered to the station. The Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch on Orbital ATK’s upgraded Antares rocket from Pad 0A of Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at Wallops. Following launch on Nov. 11, NASA TV coverage of the spacecraft’s solar array deployment will begin at 9 a.m. and a post-launch news briefing will held at approximately 10 a.m. Under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus will carry about 7,400 pounds of crew supplies and hardware to the space station, including science and research in support of dozens of research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 53 and 54. Cygnus will carry several CubeSats that will conduct a variety of missions, from technology demonstrations of laser <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/small_spacecraft/ocsd_project.html> communication and increased <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/small_spacecraft/isara_project.html> data downlink rates to an investigation <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/engineering/projects/ecamsat> to study spaceflight effects on bacterial antibiotic resistance. Other experiments will advance <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2461.html> biological monitoring aboard the station and look at various elements of plant growth <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2717.html> in microgravity that may help inform plant cultivation strategies for future long-term space missions. The spacecraft will also transport a virtual reality camera <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2642.html> to record a National Geographic educational special on Earth as a natural life-support system.  Cygnus will arrive at the station on Monday, Nov. 13. Expedition 53 Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) and Randy Bresnik of NASA will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture Cygnus at about 5:40 a.m. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:15 a.m. After Canadarm2 captures Cygnus, ground commands will be sent to guide the station’s robotic arm as it rotates and attaches the spacecraft to the bottom of the station’s Unity module. Coverage of installation will begin at 7 a.m. Cygnus will remain at the space station until Dec. 4, when the spacecraft will depart the station and deploy several CubeSate before its fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere as it disposes of several tons of trash. This Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor <https://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/feature-stories/OA8-Mission-Page/Documents/SS_Gene%20Cernan_Bio.pdf> of the former astronaut Eugene “Gene” Cernan, the last human to step foot on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission. Cernan set records for both lunar surface extravehicular activities and longest time in lunar orbit. He died in January 2017. Learn more about Orbital ATK's mission at: http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk <http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk> Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram and Twitter: http://instagram.com/iss <http://instagram.com/iss> and http://www.twitter.com/Space_Station <http://www.twitter.com/Space_Station> 

Virginia Students to Speak with NASA Astronauts on Space Station
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View of Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, and NASA's Joe Acaba, Mark Vande Hei, and Randy Bresnik, during 52S Arrival, in the Service Module.
Credits: NASA
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Students at Pole Green Elementary School in Mechanicsville, Virginia, will speak with the NASA astronauts living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station <https://www.nasa.gov/station> at 9:45 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website <http://www.nasa.gov/live>. Randy Bresnik <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/randolph-j-bresnik>, Mark Vande Hei <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/mark-t-vande-hei/biography> and Joe Acaba <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/joseph-m-acaba/biography> will be asked questions by select students. The discussion will include topics about life aboard the space station, NASA’s deep space exploration plans, and doing science in space. This is Bresnik’s second mission to the station. He currently is serving as the station’s Expedition 53 commander after launching to the orbiting laboratory on July 28. He’s scheduled to return to Earth in December. Vande Hei and Acaba both arrived at the space station on Sept. 12. This is Vande Hei’s first space mission and Acaba’s third. Together they will return to Earth in February 2018. Pole Green was selected through a competitive process to host a downlink with the station. To prepare for the event, the school plans for a full day of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) lessons and activities for the students. Industry partners supporting the day’s events include the U.S. Navy, Virginia Commonwealth Engineering, Hanover High School robotics, and Math Science Innovation Center of Richmond. Additionally, the teachers are educating the students on the history of the space program, the space station and the astronauts’ backgrounds. “Our focus is on providing students with the opportunity to see beyond their community,” said Lori Schoenwiesner, a teacher at Pole Green Elementary School. “They can and will be an important part of their country's future and we believe they deserve the opportunity to see their possibilities now so they can prepare for them.” Media interested in attending the event should contact Chris Whitley via email at cwhitley at hcps.us <mailto:cwhitley at hcps.us> or phone at 804-365-4500. Pole Green Elementary School is at 8993 Pole Green Park Lane in Mechanicsville. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in STEM. This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of NASA’s Year of Education on Station which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. Follow the astronauts on social media: https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts/ <https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts/> See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at:   <http://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation>https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/ <https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/> 

Overlooked Treasure: The First Evidence of Exoplanets
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Artist concept of an exoplanet and debris disk orbiting a polluted white dwarf.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Beneath an elegant office building with a Spanish-style red tiled roof in Pasadena, California, three timeworn storerooms safeguard more than a century of astronomy. Down the stairs and to the right is a basement of wonder. There are countless wooden drawers and boxes, stacked floor to ceiling, with telescope plates, sunspot drawings and other records. A faint ammonia-like smell, reminiscent of old film, fills the air.

Monster Planet, Tiny Star: Record-Breaking Duo Puzzles Astronomers

Artist's impression of the gas giant planet NGTS-1b and its neighboring star, an ultracool red dwarf.
Credit: Mark Garlick/University of Warwick
A giant planet has been found orbiting an ultracool dwarf star — the largest planet compared to its star ever found — leaving scientists baffled at how the duo could have formed. The planet NGTS-1b is situated 600 light-years from our solar system, according to a statement from the University of Warwick, and it is a gas giant about the size of Jupiter. Its star, on the other hand, is just half the mass and radius of the sun. The planet orbits its star at 3 percent the distance from the Earth to the sun, and it whips around a full orbit every 2.6 Earth days. An international collaboration of researchers found the planet using the Next-Generation Transit Survey <https://www.space.com/28246-alien-planet-searching-telescope-online.html>, an array of 12 telescopes at the Paranal Observatory in northern Chile that searches for a telltale dimming in distant stars that would indicate planets passing by. [7 Ways to Discover Alien Planets <https://www.space.com/20941-alien-planet-detection-techniques-countdown.html>]

NASA Highlights Science on Next Commercial Mission to Space Station
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NASA will host a media teleconference to discuss select science investigations and technology demonstrations launching on the next Orbital ATK commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station.
Credits: NASA
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Nov. 2, to discuss select science investigations and technology demonstrations launching on the next Orbital ATK commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html>. Orbital ATK is targeting Saturday, Nov. 11 for the launch of its Cygnus spacecraft on an Antares rocket from pad 0A at Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live online at: http://www.nasa.gov/live <http://www.nasa.gov/live> The Cygnus spacecraft will carry crew supplies, scientific research and hardware to the orbiting laboratory to support the Expedition 53 and 54 crews for the eighth contracted mission by Orbital ATK under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk <http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk>

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