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

Mon May 3 08:33:05 CDT 2021

Good morning all,
 I actually started this about 2 hours ago…it takes time to get pictures, review all the current information, edit it, find links that give you good insight that you can share with the kids in a way that makes it interesting and fun….when I stared this earlier I thought of al the times I would go in early to KSC so I could send it before I started the day…now with so many writing to me, it is challenging to stay focused on one thing at a time…it has been fascinating with the crew 2 launch and arrival at the ISS, the crew 1 return,  the flights of Ingenuity, Perseverance exploration, and the arrival on KSC of the SLS rocket… go to the subject links for all the latest info...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

Mars helicopter Ingenuity goes faster and farther than ever on 4th flight

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter (upper right) using its Mastcam-Z camera on April 30, 2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)
The previous highs, set on sortie number three, were 330 feet (100 m) of lateral distance, a 4.5 mph (7.2 kph) maximum speed and an 80-second flight time. (The maximum altitude attained — about 16.5 feet, or 5 m — has remained the same on the three most recent flights.)

If all went according to plan, Ingenuity also took 60 photos with its downward-facing navigation camera and five with its 13-megapixel color imager while aloft today, helicopter team members said.

We don't yet know if Ingenuity's robotic partner, NASA's Perseverance rover <https://www.space.com/perseverance-rover-mars-2020-mission>, will be in any of those shots. Ingenuity managed to spot the rover from the air <https://www.space.com/perserverance-rover-spotted-in-mars-helicopter-photo> during flight number three, capturing an image unprecedented in the history of exploration.

Perseverance carries two onboard microphones <https://www.space.com/perseverance-mars-rover-microphone-martian-sounds>, and the rover attempted to record sound of Ingenuity's flight today for the first time, mission team members said. Again, we'll have to wait until more data comes down to see if that did indeed happen.

https://twitter.com/NASA360/status/1388159093240745985?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email <https://twitter.com/NASA360/status/1388159093240745985?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw==&refsrc=email> https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-flies-faster-farther-on-third-flight <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-flies-faster-farther-on-third-flight>                                                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cY-kgUbz8I <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cY-kgUbz8I>    
Artemis I Core Stage Transported to Its New Home
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/artemis_i_core_stage_in_vab.jpg>
NASA’s Space Launch System <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html> (SLS) core stage for the Artemis I mission arrived on April 27, 2021, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The core stage arrived aboard the Pegasus barge <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/barge-pegasus-infographic> from NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf. The core stage is shown being transported into the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building on a self-propelled module transporter on April 29, 2021. Teams from the center’s Exploration Ground Systems <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/index.html> and contractor Jacobs will perform checkouts ahead of integrating the massive rocket stage with the twin solid rocket boosters <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/boosters-fully-stacked-at-kennedy.html>, Orion spacecraft <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html>, and additional flight hardware ahead of the Artemis I <https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1> launch. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of SLS and Orion and will pave the way for landing the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. It will be a proving ground for deep space exploration, leading the agency’s efforts under the Artemis program <https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram> for a sustainable presence on the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CREW 2… SUCCESS

   I hope you were able to watch the launch…it was awesome, especially as the contrail lit from the rising sun…I was at the press site…when you see a launch you see a large countdown clock…this is where I was…assisting foreign national press correspondents…it is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the launch pad, easily visible with water in between…the sky was crystal clear, the launch literally turned night into day as the flames from the engines lit up the black early morning sky also reflecting from the water… 
the most amazing sights as the rocket got to an altitude where the rising sun lit up the contrail with the most spectacular images which had everyone watching glued to these amazing images…the astronauts successfully docked with the ISS and are now on board…

Crew-1 Astronauts Safely Splash Down After Space Station Mission

NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, left, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, right are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft onboard the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship shortly after landing in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at 2:56 a.m. EDT May 2, 2021.
Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Four astronauts splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday, completing NASA’s first commercial crew, long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. The return comes nearly six months after the crew members arrived at the microgravity laboratory and also marks the longest-duration mission of a crewed American spacecraft to date.  

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, carrying NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/michael-s-hopkins/biography>, Victor Glover <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/victor-j-glover/biography>, and Shannon Walker <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/shannon-walker/biography>, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi <https://iss.jaxa.jp/en/astro/biographies/noguchi/index.html>, returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown at 2:56 a.m. EDT off the coast of Panama City, Florida. Crews aboard SpaceX recovery vessels successfully recovered the spacecraft and astronauts. After returning to shore, the astronauts will fly back to Houston.

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