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

[Gabe Gabrielle]

Hi all,

 I think the last time I wrote I was on a plane to Oslo, now I am on a plane from Denmark to Florida…the last 5 months have been unbelievable with international travel…it has been amazing but at the same time surreal…I’ve been going from country to country, dodging hurricanes, 35 hour flight times, different time zones, different cultures, different temperatures…all going so fast... most of the time I have no idea where i am but I always know what I am doing…being with the kids….I just left 2 amazing weeks, one in Norway, one in Denmark…the kids are so special…so many struggle, have no self esteem, think no one cares, and are sad inside…it is the same in all the countries…they are bright, ambitious, and want a happy life but for so many reasons they feel they can’t achieve it. So many talk with me, open their hearts, just want someone to care…I’m sure most come from good homes but hide it from their parents, their friends, everyone…it is probably 90% girls who share their feeling with me…I am sure many of the boys are troubled too but they are not so free to share their feelings…many write to me…one girl wrote to me…she said when she was 11, her life was so happy, now she is 14, she is depressed, very sad, and thinking about taking her life…I wish this was an isolated case but it is not…I seem to have this magical connection with them…they trust me, let me into their world, and share their deepest feelings with me…I try every way I know to help them…to encourage them, to have them see the good in themselves, to believe they can accomplish anything…it is so much fun with them…they always want to get close, take pictures, they are always smiling and happy for the short time I am with them…they forget their problems and feel good about themselves…this is the magic that drives me to spend so much time with them..I get so much from their smiles, their hugs, everything they do comes from their hearts…and this is all ages…what I have learned, more than anything, these last 5 months, they are all the same…they may dress differently, have different cultures, different standards of life…but they are the same…they sit the same, interact with each other the same…it is uncanny…but I see it everywhere and I think India was the final link in this belief…I’ve shared so much over the years i have been doing this newsletter…so many of you write back and share your lives with me…it has been wonderful…thank you all :-) :-)

The space program is growing so fast, so many countries have expanding space programs, commercial companies are now moving forward with new and innovated programs…it is awesome to see..Thursday night I was with a group of students in Denmark, we watched a Space X launch live…the excitement was wonderful…there are probes going to planets, moons of planets, even to a star…our sun…I hope you will find time to take a few minutes a week and share this in class…remember, the nasa.gov <http://nasa.gov/> site is amazing for real time adventures with launches, docking on space station, space walks, ships departing the space station, astronauts landing back ok earth…a never ending source of information geared toward education…for teachers, there are lesson plans, age specific, designed to fuel the imagination, then turning it into reality…I have been having some issues with this email, for some reason, the pictures I attach seem to disappear…trying to sort it out...we have to remember to always do our best, enjoy everything we do, believe in ourselves, and let those we care about most know (I always say this, we all need to take it to heart)…hugs & smiles…:-) :-) love ya, Gabe

To see the ISS go over your house: www.spotthestation.nasa.gov

This is super cool, watch the rover being assemble at the Jet propulsion Lab in California…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnuLxzocuhY <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnuLxzocuhY> 

Name the next rover...   https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/name-the-rover/ <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/name-the-rover/> 

The link below is awesome…I hope you can find some time to share it with the kids
Humanity's Return to the Moon: The How and Why of Artemis <https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/>

SpaceX Dragon Heads to Space Station with NASA Science, Cargo

SpaceX launches its 19th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station at 12:29 p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Credits: NASA TV
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after launching at 12:29 p.m. EST Wednesday. Dragon will deliver more than 5,700 pounds of NASA cargo and science investigations, including studies of malting barley in microgravity, the spread of fire, and bone and muscle loss. The spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and is scheduled to arrive at the orbital outpost on Sunday, Dec. 8. Coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival at the space station will begin at 4:30 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website <https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive>. Dragon will join three other spacecraft currently at the station. Expedition 61 <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition61/index.html> Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) will grapple Dragon with NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan <http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/andrew-r-morgan/biography> acting as a backup. NASA’s Jessica Meir <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/meir-u-jessica> will assist the duo by monitoring telemetry during Dragon’s approach. Coverage of robotic installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 8 a.m. For more information about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station <https://www.nasa.gov/station>
Luca Parmitano Works to Upgrade a Cosmic Particle Detector


European Space Agency astronaut and current International Space Station Commander Luca Parmitano and ​crewmate Andrew Morgan (out of frame) performed the third spacewalk to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Sheds New Light on the Sun


​Banner image: Illustration of Parker Solar Probe. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

In August 2018, NASA's Parker Solar Probe launched to space, soon becoming the closest-ever spacecraft to the Sun. With cutting-edge scientific instruments to measure the environment around the spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe has completed three of 24 planned passes through never-before-explored parts of the Sun's atmosphere, the corona. On Dec. 4, 2019, four new papers in the journal Nature describe what scientists have learned from this unprecedented exploration of our star — and what they look forward to learning next. These findings reveal new information about the behavior of the material and particles that speed away from the Sun, bringing scientists closer to answering fundamental questions about the physics of our star. In the quest to protect astronauts and technology in space, the information Parker has uncovered about how the Sun constantly ejects material and energy will help scientists re-write the models we use to understand and predict the space weather around our planet and understand the process by which stars are created and evolve. “This first data from Parker reveals our star, the Sun, in new and surprising ways,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Observing the Sun up close rather than from a much greater distance is giving us an unprecedented view into important solar phenomena and how they affect us on Earth, and gives us new insights relevant to the understanding of active stars across galaxies. It’s just the beginning of an incredibly exciting time for heliophysics with Parker at the vanguard of new discoveries.” Though it may seem placid to us here on Earth, the Sun is anything but quiet. Our star is magnetically active, unleashing powerful bursts of light, deluges of particles moving near the speed of light and billion-ton clouds of magnetized material. All this activity affects our planet, injecting damaging particles into the space where our satellites and astronauts fly, disrupting communications and navigation signals, and even — when intense — triggering power outages. It’s been happening for the Sun's entire 5-billion-year lifetime, and will continue to shape the destinies of Earth and the other planets in our solar system into the future. 

Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio <http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13282>


JUPITER

New findings from NASA’s Juno mission at Jupiter will be presented Dec. 11 at a press conference during the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

NASA researchers will present new findings on a wide range of Earth and space science topics at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Dec. 9-13 in San Francisco. NASA-related briefings will stream live on the agency’s website <https://www.nasa.gov/live>.