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

Wed Aug 7 06:58:27 CDT 2019

hi all,

 Greetings from Brazil…I will be leaving in a little while to do a presentation at Raja Valley for entrepreneurs, investors, educational institutions and the innovation and technology market, empowering businesses…this will be different…I never know where these adventures will take me, what kind of audience or how many will be there…I try to do my best and have fun…

I have mentioned about students speaking with astronauts aboard the ISS…it is so amazing to see this and share in it…I hope some of you will pursue this opportunity because if you can, it will be a day the kids, teachers, and school will never forget..

It seems hard to believe many teachers are back on Monday and the kids next week…I spent all of June and July in the US as I was hoping to get a Visa to Pakistan but it didn’t work out, still with all the international travel, it was good to be home for a while….I go from Brazil to Australia, then back to Brazil twice in September and to India in October…if all goes well…Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark in Nov/Dec…it is simply amazing…

With the start of school, I hope you will get the kids signed up to send their name to Mars on the Mars 2020 Rover, soon to have a name, selected by students voting for the name they like best…more info to follow….we have to remember to always do our best, enjoy everything we do, believe in ourselves, and let those we care about most know…hugs & smiles…:-) :-)      love ya, Gabe

Virginia Students to Speak with NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station

Expedition 60 Crew Members Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan participate in ROBO VR Lab training before launching to the International Space Station.
Credits: NASA
The next generation of explorers in Virginia will have an opportunity to talk live with a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html>. The Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA television and the agency’s website <https://www.nasa.gov/live>. Nick Hague <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/tyler-nick-hague/biography> will answer questions from young space enthusiasts from local schools and youth organizations in the Norfolk, Virginia, area at 1:15 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 9. The event will take place at Slover Library, 235 East Plume St., Norfolk. 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 mathematics. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Network’s <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/services/networks/sn> Tracking and Data Relay Satellites <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/services/networks/tdrs_main>.   Through NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon by 2024 <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/sending-american-astronauts-to-moon-in-2024-nasa-accepts-challenge>and then on to Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers – the Artemis generation – ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery. Learn more about America’s Moon to Mars exploration approach at: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars <https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars> Follow the astronauts on social media at: 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 <https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation> 

See the Elusive Planet Mercury in the Dawn Sky This August

Mercury will spend all of August in the eastern predawn sky, but it will only be observable with relative ease until the final week of the month.(Image: © Starry Night <http://www.starrynight.com/starry-night-8-professional-astronomy-telescope-control-software.html>)
If there ever was a planet that I feel has gotten a bad rap for its inability to be readily observed, it would have to be Mercury <https://www.space.com/36-mercury-the-suns-closest-planetary-neighbor.html>, known in many circles as the "elusive planet.” In the classic astronomy guide "New Handbook of the Heavens <https://www.amazon.com/New-Handbook-Heavens-Herbert-Bernhard/dp/B000H0UDNC>" (1941 McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.), here is what is written about the innermost planet:  "Because you must look for it so soon after sunset, or before sunrise, Mercury stays close to the sun like a child clinging to its mother's apron strings. There was a famous astronomer, Copernicus, who never saw the planet all his life."

Related: Photos of Mercury from NASA's Messenger Spacecraft <https://www.space.com/11952-latest-photos-mercury-nasa-messenger-probe-part2.html> 

See Mercury above the east-northeast horizon before sunrise this month. (Image credit: Starry Night Software <http://www.starrynight.com/starry-night-8-professional-astronomy-telescope-control-software.html>)

Nonetheless, over the next three weeks, we will be presented with an excellent opportunity to view Mercury in the early morning/dawn sky. The planet is considered "inferior" because its orbit is nearer to the sun than the Earth's is: Therefore, Mercury always appears, from our vantage point, to be in the same general direction as the sun. 

for more info: https://www.space.com/planet-mercury-skywatching-august-2019.html?utm_source=sdc-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20190806-sdc <https://www.space.com/planet-mercury-skywatching-august-2019.html?utm_source=sdc-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20190806-sdc>

Curiosity Rover Celebrates 7 Years Since Thrilling Mars Touchdown
By Mike Wall <https://www.space.com/author/mike-wall> a day ago Science & Astronomy <https://www.space.com/science-astronomy> 
Curiosity aced its crazy sky-crane landing on Aug. 5, 2012.

This artist's concept depicts a sky crane lowering NASA's Curiosity rover onto the Martian surface on Aug. 5, 2012.(Image: © NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Time flies, on Mars as well as Earth. It's been seven years since NASA's Curiosity rover aced its Red Planet touchdown <https://www.space.com/16932-mars-rover-curiosity-landing-success.html>, a harrowing and seemingly improbable maneuver that had people around the world glued to their phones and laptop screens. On the night of Aug. 5, 2012, a rocket-powered sky crane lowered the car-size Curiosity rover <https://www.space.com/17963-mars-curiosity.html> onto the floor of Gale Crater on cables, then detached and flew off to crash-land intentionally a safe distance away. When the success of this unprecedented move became apparent, mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, erupted in raucous cheers, which in some cases transitioned to tears of joy and relief.

Sign up for and invite everyone you know to go to Mars… https://go.nasa.gov/Mars2020Pass <https://go.nasa.gov/Mars2020Pass> this is a fun way to get involved and follow along with this amazing mission 

also, if you have some time in your classrooms, you can share with the kids live feed from JPL of the rover being constructed..
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/watch-live-from-jpl-as-the-mars-2020-rover-is-being-built-135087.html <https://www.autoevolution.com/news/watch-live-from-jpl-as-the-mars-2020-rover-is-being-built-135087.html> 