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

Wed Mar 27 10:32:37 CDT 2019

> Hi all, 
>  
> I arrived safely in Brazil after a 16 hour trip, it went well…I don’t sleep much on planes but make very good use of the time as I am not normally “confined” for that period of time :-) I am leaving to attends Science Days which I know will be a wonderful experience…I started this 3 days ago but have really been busy, now in Fortaleza, a beautiful area right on the beach…i can only look at it as we have been visiting schools and preparing for the Science Days events today and tomorrow…I am now on my way back to Florida…the time in Fortaleza was amazing, visiting 3 very special schools and 2 days of Science Days…

I started this 8 days ago…hopefully I can get it to you today…there has been much anticipation about the first space walk with two women being the first all female crew to do a space walk but we learned today it won’t be possible…First all-female spacewalk foiled by spacesuit sizing issue <https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/03/26/first-all-female-spacewalk-foiled-by-spacesuit-sizing-issue/> NASA astronaut Nick Hague will take the place of Anne McClain on a spacewalk Friday outside the International Space Station, teaming up with crewmate Christina Koch  to continue a series of battery upgrades on an excursion that would have been the first all-female spacewalk in history.

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

here is a cool link for incredible images of stars...
> 
> 15 Unforgettable Images of Stars <http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=a71884115afa78843c1c43b6b58229b6c7344f52dc0d3deffe7a299e2a44ad85d6837deb543cf20b7b38a034c02fbba3c719d57703f8139f8b22f9baf0f44420>

> 

> 
> Japan Taps Toyota to Build Futuristic Moon Rover
> 
> Japan's space agency has teamed up with Toyota to develop a huge moon rover for future astronauts. It could be ready by 2029, JAXA says.
> (Image: © Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
> Japan wants to build the ultimate moon rover for astronauts and has tapped Toyota to help develop a futuristic, off-road, lunar vehicle that could potentially launch in 2029. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency <https://www.space.com/22672-japan-aerospace-exploration-agency.html> announced Tuesday (March 12) that it is working with vehicle manufacturer Toyota to develop the moon rover of the future – a massive vehicle powered by fuel cells with a maximum range of a whopping 6,213 miles (10,000 kilometers). “Manned rovers with pressurized cabins are an element that will play an important role in full-fledged exploration and use of the lunar surface," JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said in a statement <http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2019/03/20190312a.html>. "Through our joint studies going forward, we would like to put to use Toyota’s excellent technological abilities related to mobility, and we look forward to the acceleration of our technological studies for the realization of a manned, pressurized rover.” Related: Moon Driving: NASA's Apollo Lunar Rovers in Photos <https://www.space.com/12485-nasa-photos-moon-cars-lunar-rovers.html> The plan, JAXA officials said, is to work with Toyota on a huge, pressurized rover that will be typically crewed by two astronauts but capable of accommodating up to four people in an emergency. If current concept designs hold true, the rover will be huge — at least 20 feet (6 meters) long, have six wheels, and measure 17 feet (5.2 m) wide and 12.4 feet (3.8 m) high. The vehicle will have about 140 square feet (13 square meters) of living space, JAXA officials said. Two concept images of the the JAXA-Toyota moon rover show a sleek, futuristic lunar car with a cockpit like a nose covered in angular windows. The concept design shows that the rover has headlights and running lights (they might be signal blinkers), as well as brake lights. One image shows what appears to be a rollout solar array to generate power.
> 
> This concept of a Japanese moon rover built by Toyota appears to use a rollup solar array for power. JAXA and Toyota are exploring the use of fuel cells for electric power. 
> 
> SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Megarocket to Fly 1st Commercial Mission in April
> SpaceX is targeting April 7 for the first Falcon Heavy commercial launch, according to CNBC.
> 
> 
> SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launches on its first-ever flight, a Feb. 6, 2018, test mission.(Image: © SpaceX)SpaceX plans to launch the first commercial mission of its Falcon Heavy megarocket <https://www.space.com/39779-falcon-heavy-facts.html> early next month, according to media reports.The company is targeting April 7 for the launch of the Arabsat 6A communications satellite from historic Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, CNBC reported Friday <https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/15/spacex-falcon-heavy-arabsat-6a-launch-april-7-sources.html> (March 15), citing  anonymous sources. SpaceX has not officially announced a launch target for the Falcon Heavy mission. The 13,200-lb. (6,000 kilograms) Arabsat 6A was built by Lockheed Martin and will be operated by the Saudi Arabian company Arabsat.
> 83 Gargantuan Black Holes Spotted Guzzling Down Dinner at the Edge of the Universe
>      
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> An artist's conception of a quasar surrounding a supermassive black hole, which has a mass many times that of Earth's sun. Although nothing that falls into the black hole can escape, its massive gravity accelerates an "accretion disk" of luminous particles and gases around it. 
> Credit: Yoshiki Matsuoka
> Astronomers have discovered 83 supermassive black holes birthed by the universe in its infancy. More precisely, the researchers have detected quasars, or huge, luminous disks of gases and dust that surround supermassive black holes. (The black holes themselves emit no light or energy, of course, though friction from the matter that swirls around and ultimately into a black hole's "mouth" does spit out immense light.) The quasars and their central black holes are 13 billion light-years away from Earth, meaning scientists are seeing the objects now as they appeared only 800 million years after the universe formed <https://www.space.com/24054-how-old-is-the-universe.html>. Prior to the new discovery, which was made using Japan's Subaru Telescope, only 17 supermassive black holes were known from the region surveyed. [Stephen Hawking's Most Far-Out Ideas About Black Holes <https://www.livescience.com/62016-stephen-hawking-black-holes.html>]
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>   
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> Can I see Earth's Moon from Mars? <https://www.quora.com/Can-I-see-Earths-Moon-from-Mars>
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> Yes, you can. Here's a great image, taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft in 2003. The catalog page for this image is: Catalog Page for PIA04531 <http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04531>
> As long as the sky is clear, you could see the Moon from the surface, too.
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> 
> (Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems)
> 

Day and Night Are Perfectly Balanced in Spring Equinox Photo Snapped from Space

 Earth just got another dazzling glamour shot, thanks to a satellite that snapped its photo on the March 20 spring equinox. This photo shows half of the planet illuminated in light, and the other steeped in darkness, just like a black-and-white cookie <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_white_cookie>.
This beautiful symmetry is no surprise for anyone who knows anything about the equinox. In Latin, equinox means "equal night." Twice a year, in March and September, the equinox happens when the amount of daylight and darkness are nearly equal at all latitudes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration <https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/goes-east-captures-view-vernal-equinox> (NOAA).

Why aren't equinoxes more common? The answer has to do with Earth's tilt. Because the planet is tilted on its axis about 23.5 degrees, daylight is usually unequally distributed across the planet. Depending on where Earth is in its orbit around the sun, either the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere will have longer days or nights. [Earth Pictures: Iconic Images of Earth from Space <https://www.livescience.com/20369-earth-pictures-space.html>]

A Single Thundercloud Carries 1 Billion Volts of Electricity

When Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite <https://www.livescience.com/549-ben-franklin-quirkiest-ideas.html> and flew it into a lightning storm, he briefly became an appliance plugged into the strongest power generator on Earth.

Franklin knew, as most people do, that thunderstorms are incredibly powerful <https://www.livescience.com/56548-how-hot-is-lightning.html>. Researchers have tried to estimate precisely how powerful for more than a century, but have always come up short — even the most sophisticated airborne sensors are inadequate because thunderclouds are just too big and unpredictable to measure.

Now, in a paper published Mar. 15 in the journal Physical Review Letters <https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.105101>, researchers in Ooty, India, have come up with a shocking <https://www.livescience.com/topics/lightning> new answer — thanks to a little help from some cosmic rays. [Electric Earth: Stunning Images of Lightning <https://www.livescience.com/11253-electric-earth.html>]