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

Wed Nov 29 06:46:53 CST 2017

hi all,
 Good morning from Norway….I arrived safe & sound, minus 1 bag, on Sunday afternoon…I will be here, in Oslo for 1 week, then to Bodo for 6 days, then back to Oslo for 3, heading home on the 13th... have been to 4 schools and it has been awesome…the kids, teachers, headmasters have been so kind and, as I say so many times…I am so very thankful…yesterday I even got to see snow in Oslo, my first time in 6 visits here…way fun and so beautiful…but windy too…brrrr…this Florida guy was missing the heat…still, always so special here and I enjoy it so much…I mention the ISS link to share with the new added teachers….also, hoping some of you will try to get the opportunity to have your school participate in speaking with the astronauts on the ISS…wishing you a wonderful day...we have to remember to always do our best, enjoy everything we do, live in the present, make each day special, let those we care about most know, smile and have fun… Gabe

To see the ISS: spotthestation.nasa.gov <http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/> 

NASA Builds its Next Mars Rover Mission

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-builds-its-next-mars-rover-mission <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-builds-its-next-mars-rover-mission>

In just a couple of years, NASA’s newest rover will be flying to Mars. The Mars 2020 mission will use the next generation of science and landing technology to collect rock samples for possible return by a future mission. In just a few years, NASA's next Mars rover mission will be flying to the Red Planet.x At a glance <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/rover/>, it looks a lot like its predecessor, the Curiosity Mars rover. But there's no doubt it's a souped-up science machine: It has seven new instruments, redesigned wheels and more autonomy. A drill will capture rock cores, while a caching system with a miniature robotic arm will seal up these samples. Then, they'll be deposited on the Martian surface for possible pickup by a future mission. This new hardware is being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, which manages the mission for the agency. It includes the Mars 2020 mission <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/>'s cruise stage, which will fly the rover through space, and the descent stage, a rocket-powered "sky crane" that will lower it to the planet's surface. Both of these stages have recently moved into JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility.
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22105-16.jpg>
This artist's rendition depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover studying a Mars rock outrcrop. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full image and caption <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=pia22105>
Mars 2020 relies heavily on the system designs and spare hardware previously created for Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover, which landed in 2012. Roughly 85 percent of the new rover's mass is based on this "heritage hardware.” "The fact that so much of the hardware has already been designed -- or even already exists -- is a major advantage for this mission," said Jim Watzin, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. "It saves us money, time and most of all, reduces risk.” Despite its similarities to Mars Science Laboratory, the new mission has very different goals. Mars 2020's instruments will seek signs of ancient life by studying terrain that is now inhospitable, but once held flowing rivers and lakes, more than 3.5 billion years ago. To achieve these new goals, the rover has a suite of cutting-edge science instruments. It will seek out biosignatures on a microbial scale: An X-ray spectrometer will target spots as small as a grain of table salt, while an ultraviolet laser will detect the "glow" from excited rings of carbon atoms. A ground-penetrating radar will be the first instrument to look under the surface of Mars, mapping layers of rock, water and ice up to 30 feet (10 meters) deep, depending on the material.

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22107-16.jpg>
This artist's concept depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover exploring Mars. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full image and caption <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=pia22107>
The rover is getting some upgraded Curiosity hardware, including color cameras, a zoom lens and a laser that can vaporize rocks and soil to analyze their chemistry. "Our next instruments will build on the success of MSL, which was a proving ground for new technology," said George Tahu, NASA's Mars 2020 program executive. "These will gather science data in ways that weren't possible before.” The mission will also undertake a marathon sample hunt: The rover team will try to drill at least 20 rock cores, and possibly as many as 30 or 40, for possible future return to Earth. "Whether life ever existed beyond Earth is one of the grand questions humans seek to answer," said Ken Farley of JPL, Mars 2020's project scientist. "What we learn from the samples collected during this mission has the potential to address whether we're alone in the universe.” JPL is also developing a crucial new landing technology called terrain-relative navigation <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/technology/entry-descent-landing/#Terrain-Relative-Navigation>. As the descent stage approaches the Martian surface, it will use computer vision to compare the landscape with pre-loaded terrain maps. This technology will guide the descent stage to safe landing sites, correcting its course along the way. A related technology called the range trigger will use location and velocity to determine when to fire the spacecraft's parachute. That change will narrow the landing ellipse by more than 50 percent. "Terrain-relative navigation enables us to go to sites that were ruled too risky for Curiosity to explore," said Al Chen of JPL, the Mars 2020 entry, descent and landing lead. "The range trigger lets us land closer to areas of scientific interest, shaving miles -- potentially as much as a year -- off a rover's journey.” This approach to minimizing landing errors will be critical in guiding any future mission dedicated to retrieving the Mars 2020 samples, Chen said. Site selection has been another milestone for the mission. In February, the science community narrowed the list of potential landing sites <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/timeline/prelaunch/landing-site-selection/> from eight to three. Those three remaining sites represent fundamentally different environments that could have harbored primitive life: an ancient lakebed called Jezero Crater; Northeast Syrtis, where warm waters may have chemically interacted with subsurface rocks; and a possible hot springs at Columbia Hills. All three sites have rich geology and may potentially harbor signs of past microbial life. A final landing site decision is still more than a year away. "In the coming years, the 2020 science team will be weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each of these sites," Farley said. "It is by far the most important decision we have ahead of us."

New York Students to Speak with NASA Astronauts on Space Station
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/m17-139.jpg>
NASA astronauts Joe Acaba, Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei will take questions from students at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, on Nov. 27 as they continue participation in the Year of Education on the International Space Station.
Credits: NASA
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Students at U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, will speak with NASA astronauts living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station <https://www.nasa.gov/station> at 9:15 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 27. 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 students. The discussion will include topics about life aboard the space station, NASA’s deep space exploration plans, and scientific research in space. This is Bresnik’s second mission to the station, and he serves as the station’s Expedition 53 commander. Bresnik launched to the orbiting laboratory on July 28 and is 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. Both will return to Earth in February 2018. Vande Hei was an assistant professor of physics at West Point. He and his crewmates will speak to cadets in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering. West Point was selected through a competitive process to host a downlink with the station. Media interested in attending the event should contact Kimberly Lewis at Kimberly.Lewis at usma.edu <mailto:Kimberly.Lewis at usma.edu> or 845-938-7907. United States Military Academy is at 900 Washington Road in West Point. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (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: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/ <http://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation>

NASA to Highlight Science on Next Resupply Mission to Space Station
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/m17-138.jpg>
A SpaceX Dragon is seen berthed to the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station. The company is launching its 13th commercial resupply mission to station for NASA no earlier than Dec. 4 carrying thousands of pounds of cargo and research to the crew living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Credits: NASA
 <applewebdata://A44BB191-FE66-4802-9187-D983248DFA6D#>
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 29, to discuss a number of science investigations <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/resupply_critical_science_to_ISS> and instruments launching to the International Space Station on the next SpaceX <http://www.nasa.gov/spacex> commercial resupply mission. SpaceX is targeting no earlier than Dec. 4 for the launch of its Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Kirt Costello, deputy chief scientist for the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Mike Roberts, deputy chief scientist at the Center of Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), will kick off the call with an overview of the research and technology aboard Dragon. Also participating in the briefing will be:

Andrew Rush, president and chief executive officer, Made in Space, will discuss its Fiber Optics <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2421.html> payload, which will test manufacturing fiber optic filaments in a microgravity environment. This could lead to production of higher-quality fiber optic products both in space and on Earth.
Brian Hess, chief executive officer, and Grayson Allen, chief financial officer, both of LaunchPad Medical, will discuss an investigation using synthetic bone material <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2398.html> to accelerate bone repair.
Dong Wu, project scientist at the NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Peter Pilewskie, lead scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, will discuss NASA’s Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor <https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/tsis-1> (TSIS), a new instrument launching to station that will measure the Sun’s energy input to Earth.
Joseph Hamilton, principal investigator, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will discuss the Space Debris Sensor <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2145.html>, an external tool which will measure the orbital debris environment around the space station.
Yasaman Shirazi, mission scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, will discuss an investigation testing drug delivery systems for combatting muscle breakdown <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/2465.html> in microgravity.
Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live online at: https://www.nasa.gov/live <https://www.nasa.gov/live>

The James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope sits in NASA's immense Chamber A at Johnson Space Center after completing its final series of tests in the frigid, airless room.

The James Webb Space Telescope has just emerged into the light after more than 90 days sealed in NASA's giant cryogenic vacuum chamber. The test is crucial to ensuring the next-generation telescope is space-ready before its launch, which is currently scheduled for mid-2019 <https://www.space.com/38304-james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delay.html>. James Webb is often touted as Hubble's cosmic successor <https://www.space.com/21925-james-webb-space-telescope-jwst.html>. The two telescopes have similar mission profiles and overlap in the wavelengths of light they detect. But Webb's main mirror is more than six times the size of Hubble's. It's so large, that engineers had to constructed it out of 18 individual segments, which will unfold and align once it reaches its destination <https://www.space.com/38805-focusing-james-webb-telescope-video.html>. The mirror alignment was one of the systems that NASA tested inside Chamber A, the cavernous cryogenic vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The team placed Webb's optical telescope and integrated science instrument module (OTIS) through many tests in the chamber, according to a statement <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-s-james-webb-space-telescope-completes-final-cryogenic-testing> the agency released on Monday (Nov. 20). Engineers monitored the telescope during testing with thermal sensors and specialized cameras. [NASA Upgrades Historic Giant Vacuum Chamber for Space Telescope <https://www.space.com/20535-nasa-vacuum-chamber-space-telescope.html>]
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