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

Thu Mar 18 23:18:48 CDT 2021

good morning all,

  I hope everyone is doing great…I think many of us can reflect back on this past year and how it changes our lives, the lives of everyone around us, and how it changed the world…at this time last year I was in Brazil on a 6 week speaking tour combined with supporting Science Days events…when i left, i think March 2nd there was some talk of the virus but no one was really making it a big issue…when I got to Brazil, it was not an issue…the first 10 days were awesome…Natal was so amazing…at universities, schools, and special events…even a most interesting and rewarding event at the beach…a super cool program that takes kids from an extremely poor area, bringing them to the beach for surf lessons, then afternoon classes…it is so rewarding to see these kids smile and have hope when their environment is so limiting…from there to Sao Paulo to stay with friends and visit UFABC, an amazing university where I spent the whole day…still no concern about the virus but I was hearing how it was becoming very serious in the US…from there to Sao Jose dos Campos for a science days event…this is when things started to be concerning…the NBA season was cancelled, Disney and all attractions  were closing in the US, it was very bad, many people dying... in Brazil, we started having serious issues as well…schools canceling, events with almost no attendees when there would have been thousands…I was getting concerned I could not get back to the US or I would be quarantined…also, travel was almost impossible…everything was booked, travel agencies overwhelmed, it was impossible to reach anyone by any means…it looked like Brazil was shutting down, I hated to cancel events, many had so much promise for the kids…but I decided I better get back as soon as possible…in my haste to get back, I booked the first flight, at midnight, not realizing it involved a 12 hour layover in Panama…had I waited to leave at 6  in the morning, I would have got back 6 hours sooner…I was surprised as I zipped through customs with no delays…no questions, no temperature check, nothing…and now a year later…so many of us have lost family members, have seen many so sick, and we are still battling to get to “normalcy”…it has been amazing to be home for a year…I was traveling about 10 months a year, it was like a time warp…I was in so many different countries, so many different cities, many hundreds of schools…it was so much fun, it was magical…surreal…the last year has been very productive with house, yard, and car projects…but the future is still uncertain with regard to visiting schools…the world is still struggling, many people still dying, it is always the poorest who suffer most…we are optimistic in the US…the vaccine is in full production which will be a huge help, there is optimism that possibly by August, 80% of the population will be vaccinated, things will be much better…we will have to see…
 We have to stay positive and always be thankful… remembering to 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... :-) :-) STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE, Love ya, Gabe

NASA Has Made Their Entire Photo Gallery Available Online and Copyright Free
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/136484/nasa-photo-gallery/ <https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/136484/nasa-photo-gallery/>

 Perseverance continues to send amazing photos and videos as equipment and drivability are being tested….

Notice that portion of Martian soil that is different colored from the surrounding ground. Well that's where the Perseverance rover landed. The soil and dust were stirred up by the rockets of the descent stage. You can still see the rover's wheel markings from when it first moved, later this past week. What else will Mars reveal to us?

check the link below for all the Perseverance updates...
https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance <https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance> 

NASA Mega Moon Rocket Passes Key Test, Readies for Launch

screen_shot_2021-03-18_at_5.05.04_pm.png
The core stage for the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket is seen in the B-2 Test Stand during a hot fire test Thursday, March 18, 2021, at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The hot fire is the final test of the Green Run test series, a comprehensive assessment of the Space Launch System’s core stage prior to launching the Artemis I mission to the Moon.
Credits: NASA T

The largest rocket element NASA has ever built, the core stage of NASA’s Space  <http://nasa.gov/sls>
Launch System (SLS) <http://nasa.gov/sls> rocket, fired its four RS-25 engines for 8 minutes and 19 seconds Thursday at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The successful test, known as a hot fire, is a critical milestone ahead of the agency’s Artemis I mission, which will send an uncrewed Orion <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html> spacecraft on a test flight around the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for future Artemis <https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram> missions with astronauts. Engineers designed the eight-part Green Run test campaign <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/artemis-testing-sls-green-run-checklist-cropped.html> to gradually bring the SLS core stage to life for the first time, culminating with the hot fire. The team will use data from the tests to validate the core stage design for flight. “The SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, and during today’s test the core stage of the rocket generated more than 1.6 million pounds of thrust within seven seconds. The SLS is an incredible feat of engineering and the only rocket capable of powering America’s next-generation missions that will place the first woman and the next man on the Moon,” said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “Today’s successful hot fire test of the core stage for the SLS is an important milestone in NASA’s goal to return humans to the lunar surface – and beyond.” NASA previously conducted a hot fire test of the SLS core stage Jan. 16. The four RS-25 engines fired together for the first time for about one minute before the test ended earlier than planned. Following data analysis, NASA determined a second, longer hot fire test would provide valuable data to help verify the core stage design for flight, while posing minimal risk to the Artemis I core stage. During the second hot fire test, the stage fired the engines for a little more than eight minutes, just like it will during every Artemis launch to the Moon. The longer duration hot fire tested a variety of operational conditions, including moving the four engines in specific patterns to direct thrust and powering the engines up to 109% power, throttling down and back up, as they will during flight. “This longer hot fire test provided the wealth of data we needed to ensure the SLS core stage can power every SLS rocket successfully,” said John Honeycutt, manager for the SLS Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “During this test, the team conducted new operations with the core stage for the first time, repeated some critical operations, and recorded test data that will help us verify the core stage is ready for the first and future SLS flights for NASA’s Artemis program.” The two propellant tanks in the SLS core stage collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to help fuel the RS-25 engines at the bottom of the stage. The core stage has a complex network of flight software and avionics systems designed to help fly, track, and steer the rocket during launch and flight. Prior tests in the Green Run test series evaluated the integrated functionality and performance of the core stage’s avionics systems, propulsion systems, and hydraulic systems. “Today is a great day for NASA, Stennis and this nation’s human space exploration program. This final test in the Green Run series represents a major milestone for this nation’s return to the Moon and eventual mission to Mars,” said Stennis Center Director Richard Gilbrech. “So many people across the agency and the nation contributed to this SLS core stage, but special recognition is due to the blended team of test operators, engineers, and support personnel for an exemplary effort in conducting the test today.” Test teams at Stennis supervised a network of 114 tanker trucks and six propellant barges that provided liquid propellant through the B-2 Test Stand to the core stage. Test teams also delivered operational electrical power, supplied more than 330,000 gallons of water per minute to the stand’s flame deflector, and monitored structural interfaces of both the hardware and the stand. Testing the SLS rocket’s core stage is a combined effort for NASA and its industry partners. Boeing is the prime contractor for the core stage and Aerojet Rocketdyne is the prime contractor for the RS-25 engines. Next, the core stage for SLS will be refurbished, then shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There, the core stage will be assembled with the solid rocket boosters and other parts of the rocket and NASA’s Orion spacecraft on the mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy in preparation for Artemis I. SLS, Orion, and the ground systems at Kennedy, along with the human landing system and the Gateway <https://www.nasa.gov/in-lunar-orbit> in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon on a single mission. The exploration of the Moon with NASA’s Artemis program includes preparations to send astronauts to Mars as part of America’s Moon to Mars exploration approach. For more on NASA’s SLS, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/sls <https://www.nasa.gov/sls> 
For more on NASA’s SLS core stage Green Run test series, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/greenrun <https://www.nasa.gov/greenrun>

Peering into a Galaxy's Dusty Core to Study an Active Supermassive Black Hole
Researchers using NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will map and model the core of nearby galaxy Centaurus A.

Centaurus A is a giant of a galaxy, but its appearances in telescope observations can be deceiving. Dark dust lanes and young blue star clusters, which crisscross its central region, are apparent in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light, painting a fairly subdued landscape. But by switching to X-ray and radio light views, a far more raucous scene begins to unfold: From the core of the misshapen elliptical galaxy, spectacular jets of material have erupted from its active supermassive black hole – known as an active galactic nucleus <https://webbtelescope.org/resource-gallery/articles/pagecontent/filter-articles/what-are-active-galactic-nuclei?filterUUID=a776e097-0c60-421c-baec-1d8ad049bfb0> – sending material into space well beyond the galaxy's limits.
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/stsci-j-p2115a-f-3000x2686.png>
Centaurus A sports a warped central disk of gas and dust, which is evidence of a past collision and merger with another galaxy. It also has an active galactic nucleus that periodically emits jets. It is the fifth brightest galaxy in the sky and only about 13 million light-years away from Earth, making it an ideal target to study an active galactic nucleus – a supermassive black hole emitting jets and winds – with NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope.
Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; optical: Rolf Olsen; infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech; radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/Univ.Hertfordshire/M.Hardcastle
What, precisely, is happening at its core to cause all this activity? Upcoming observations led by Nora Lützgendorf and Macarena García Marín of the European Space Agency using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will allow researchers to peer through its dusty core in high resolution for the first time to begin to answer these questions. "There's so much going on in Centaurus A," explains Lützgendorf. "The galaxy's gas, disk, and stars all move under the influence of its central supermassive black hole. Since the galaxy is so close to us, we'll be able to use Webb to create two-dimensional maps to see how the gas and stars move in its central region, how they are influenced by the jets from its active galactic nucleus <https://webbtelescope.org/resource-gallery/articles/pagecontent/filter-articles/what-are-active-galactic-nuclei?filterUUID=a776e097-0c60-421c-baec-1d8ad049bfb0>, and ultimately better characterize the mass of its black hole."

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/stsci-j-p2115b-f-2250x1800.png>
Centaurus A's dusty core is apparent in visible light, but its jets are best viewed in X-ray and radio light. With upcoming observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light, researchers hope to better pinpoint the mass of the galaxy's central supermassive black hole as well as evidence that shows where the jets were ejected.
Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; optical: Rolf Olsen; infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech; radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/Univ.Hertfordshire/M.Hardcastle
A Quick Look Back

Let's hit "rewind" to review a bit of what is already known about Centaurus A. It's well studied because it's relatively nearby – about 13 million light-years away – which means we can clearly resolve the full galaxy. The first record of it was logged in the mid-1800s, but astronomers lost interest until the 1950s because the galaxy appeared to be a quiet, if misshapen, elliptical galaxy. Once researchers were able to begin observing with radio telescopes in the 1940s and '50s, Centaurus A became radically more interesting – and its jets came into view. In 1954, researchers found that Centaurus A is the result of two galaxies that merged, which was later estimated to have occurred 100 million years ago. With more observations in the early 2000s, researchers estimated that about 10 million years ago, its active galactic nucleus shot out twin jets in opposite directions. When examined across the electromagnetic spectrum, from X-ray to radio light, it's clear there is far more to this story that we still have to learn. "Multi-wavelength studies of any galaxy are like the layers of an onion. Each wavelength shows you something different," said Marín. "With Webb's near- and mid-infrared instruments, we'll see far colder gas and dust than in previous observations, and learn much more about the environment at the center of the galaxy."

Supermassive black holes, which lie at the centers of galaxies, are voracious. They periodically "sip" or "gulp" from the swirling disks of gas and dust that orbit them, which can result in massive outflows that affect star formation locally and farther afield. When NASA's James Webb Space Telescope begins observing galaxies' cores, its infrared instruments will pierce through the dust to deliver images and incredibly high-resolution data that allow researchers to learn precisely how one process sets off another, and how they create an enormous feedback loop.
Credits: NASA, ESA, and L. Hustak (STScI)
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/peering-into-a-galaxys-dusty-core-to-study-an-active-supermassive-black-hole <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/peering-into-a-galaxys-dusty-core-to-study-an-active-supermassive-black-hole> 
Visualizing Webb's Data

The team led by Lützgendorf and Marín will observe Centaurus A not only by taking images with Webb, but by gathering data known as spectra, which spread out light into its component wavelengths like a rainbow. Webb's spectra will reveal high-resolution information about the temperatures, speeds, and compositions of the material at the center of the galaxy.In particular, Webb's Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec <https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/instruments/nirspec.html> and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) <https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/instruments/miri.html> will provide the research team with a combination of data: an image plus a spectrum <https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/videos/2018/37/1181-Video?Type=03-features> from within each pixel of that image. This will allow the researchers to build intricate 2D maps from the spectra that will help them identify what's happening behind the veil of dust at the center – and analyze it from many angles in depth. Compare this style of modeling to the analysis of a garden. In the same way botanists classify plants based on specific sets of features, these researchers will classify spectra from Webb's MIRI to construct "gardens" or models. "If you take a snapshot of a garden from a great distance away," Marín explained, "You will see something green, but with Webb, we will be able to see individual leaves and flowers, their stems, and maybe the soil underneath.” As the research team digs into the spectra, they'll build maps from individual parts of the garden, comparing one spectrum to another nearby spectrum. This is analogous to determining which parts contain which plant species based on comparisons of "stems," "leaves," and "flowers" as they go. "When it comes to spectral analysis, we conduct many comparisons," Marín continued. "If I compare two spectra in this region, maybe I will find that what was observed contains a prominent population of young stars. Or confirm which areas are both dusty and heated. Or maybe we will identify emission coming from the active galactic nucleus.” In other words, the "ecosystem" of spectra has many levels, which will allow the team to better define precisely what is present and where it is – which is made possible by Webb's specialized infrared instruments. And, since these studies will build on many that came before, the researchers will be able to confirm, refine, or break new ground by identifying new features. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/peering-into-a-galaxys-dusty-core-to-study-an-active-supermassive-black-hole <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/peering-into-a-galaxys-dusty-core-to-study-an-active-supermassive-black-hole> 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUtR_z5kThk <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUtR_z5kThk> 
Watch as the jets and winds from a supermassive black hole affect its host galaxy – and the space hundreds of thousands of light-years away over millions of yeaCredits: NASA, ESA, and L. Hustak (STScI)
Weighing the Black Hole in Centaurus A

The combination of images and spectra provided by NIRSpec and MIRI will allow the team to create very high-resolution maps of the speeds of the gas and stars at the center of Centaurus A. "We plan to use these maps to model how the entire disk at the center of the galaxy moves to more precisely determine the black hole's mass," Lützgendorf explains.
Since researchers understand how the gravity of a black hole governs the rotation of nearby gas, they can use the Webb data to weigh the black hole in Centaurus A. With a more complete set of infrared data, they will also determine if different parts of the gas are all behaving as anticipated. "I'm looking forward to fully filling out our data," Lützgendorf said. "I hope to see how the ionized gas behaves and twirls, and where we see the jets.” The researchers are also hoping to break new ground. "It's possible we'll find things we haven't considered yet," Lützgendorf explains. "In some aspects, we'll be covering completely new territory with Webb." Marín wholeheartedly agrees, and adds that building on a wealth of existing data is invaluable. "The most exciting aspects about these observations is the potential for new discoveries," she said. "I think we might find something that makes us look back to other data and reinterpret what was seen earlier."

These studies of Centaurus A will be conducted as part of Gillian Wright and Pierre Ferruit's joint MIRI and NIRSpec Guaranteed Time Observations <https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/observing-programs/approved-gto-programs> programs. All of Webb's data will ultimately be stored in the publicly accessible Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
The James Webb Space Telescope will be the world's premier space science observatory when it launches in 2021. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
Contact: Claire Blome/Christine Pulliam
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
 410-338-4366
cblome <mailto:cblome at stsci.edu>@stsci.edu <mailto:lramsay at stsci.edu> / cpulliam at stsci.edu <mailto:cpulliam at stsci.edu>

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