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

Wed Aug 24 09:58:46 CDT 2022

Hi all,

  Good morning from here….most schools have returned in Florida and other states in the US while some will start in a couple of weeks…what happened to summer? I know many of you are asking yourself the same question…a reminder to live in the present and enjoy each day as we pass through it….

 Artemis is on the launch pad, ready for lunch on August 29th, 8:33am, Florida time…I was able to attend the roll out, when it went from the VAB to the Launch Pad…simply amazing…we were about 5 meters (15ft)  away when it passed by… so awesome with a blood moon rising in the background to majestically be above Artemis…with the future connection…Artemis, named after the Greek Goddess, Artemis, who loved the moon…twin sister of Apollo which took male astronauts to the moon in the 60s & 70s…Artemis will take women and men to the moon and Mars… this is the most powerful rocket ever launched, it will literally shake the Earth on lift off…I hope you can share it with the kids…
https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-mission-launch-one-week?utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9 <https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-mission-launch-one-week?utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9> 

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… STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE, Love ya, Gabe  

ARTEMIS LEAVING THE VAB GOING TO THE LAUNCH PAD

NASA's Artemis 1 SLS megarocket has had a long road to its moon launch pad
By Robert Lea  <https://www.space.com/author/robert-lea>published 1 day ago
It's been a long journey to the launch pad for the Space Launch System (SLS) the most powerful rocket ever built by humanity.

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NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher as it is rolled up the ramp at Launch Pad 39B, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
August 2022 is set to be an important month for the future of space exploration as it will see the first launch of the massive Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket ever built by humanity. The rocket will carry the uncrewed Orion spacecraft into space as part of the Artemis I mission. 

"The next era of space exploration begins with the Artemis I <https://www.space.com/artemis-program.html> launch," SLS Associate program manager, Sharon Cobb, told Space.com. "Artemis will enable the first woman and first person of color to not only set foot on the moon but also to explore it along with international and commercial partners."

This launch will ensure both the Orion capsule <https://www.space.com/27824-orion-spacecraft.html> and the SLS are ready to carry astronauts during the Artemis II mission set for no earlier than 2024. "Artemis will also test new deep space exploration systems including the SLS rocket needed for long-term exploration of the moon <https://www.space.com/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html> and ultimately Mars <https://www.space.com/47-mars-the-red-planet-fourth-planet-from-the-sun.html>," Cobb added.

The Boeing company took the lead in the construction of the first version of the SLS, or 'Block 1' as it is officially titled, with the building of the Core Stage hardware  —  a stretched shuttle external fuel tank powered by four space shuttle (RS-25) main engines  —  in November 2014 at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Cobb said that this 212-foot tall core stage comprises the backbone of the SLS.

The core stage holds 730,000 gallons (3.3 million liters) of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for its four RS-25 engines which should be able to provide 8.8 million pounds (3.9 million kilograms) of maximum thrust at lift-off, 15 percent more thrust than Saturn V. These were attached to the core stage in 2019 after being tested by NASA between 2015 and 2017.

The SLS core stage was moved to Stennis Space Center <https://www.space.com/39498-stennis-space-center.html> in early 2020 to undergo end-to-end testing. This included firing tests that took place in January and March 2021, with all four engines igniting and throttling down in a simulation of in-flight conditions during the later test.

The core stage was moved again in April 2021, this time to Kennedy Space Center where it was coupled with the upper stage that it will use during Artemis 1. 

A diagram of the SLS as it boosts the Orion vehicle towards the moon. 

Europe plays key role in NASA’s epic return to the moon
August 23, 2022 <https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/08/> Clive Simpson <https://spaceflightnow.com/author/clive-simpson/> 

A view of the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission during launch preparations at the Kennedy Space Center. The U.S.-built crew module sits mounted atop the European-built service module, with its solar arrays folded up for launch. Credit: NASA
European space officials have hailed the importance of NASA’s upcoming inaugural Artemis mission and the vital role ESA is playing in supporting a return to the moon.

Speaking to a media briefing in Paris this morning, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said the inspirational impact of the Apollo lunar landings was still felt today.

“With this mission, Europe is going to the moon and it is a privilege for us to be a part of this historic mission alongside NASA.”

Aschbacher described ESA’s role in delivering the European Service Module (ESM) — which will provide vital propulsion and life supports systems — as “modest” compared to NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew vehicle.

“Nevertheless, this will be the first time NASA has relied on ESA for a key part of a flagship mission, and the whole Artemis partnership signals a significant new level of cooperation,” he added.

The first mission for Orion and the European Service Module will send the spacecraft beyond the moon and back. This mission, called Artemis 1, will not carry a crew and will be controlled directly from the ground at mission control.

After Monday’s Flight Readiness Review — an in-depth assessment of the preparedness of the 322-foot-tall (98-meter) stack, consisting of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft currently sitting on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida — NASA declared it was all systems go.

Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general. Credit: ESA – S. Corvaja

Webb images of Jupiter show auroras, rings, moons
August 22, 2022 <https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/08/> Stephen Clar <https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/>

This composite infrared image of Jupiter was created using data from the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The Great Red Spot is located at lower right. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.
A few weeks after officially starting science operations, the James Webb Space Telescope turned its mirrors toward Jupiter and captured stunning new infrared views of the gas giant planet, its auroras, moons, and faint rings.

The images are Webb’s first official scientific observations of a planet in our solar system. Webb captured test images of solar system targets, including Jupiter, during the observatory’s commissioning campaign.

Scientists declared Webb ready for operational science observations last month, and the telescopes captured these views of Jupiter on July 27. The Jupiter images were released Monday.

“We’ve never seen Jupiter like this. It’s all quite incredible. We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest,” said Imke de Pater, a planetary astronomer and professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s really remarkable that we can see details on Jupiter together with its rings, tiny satellites, and even galaxies in one image.”

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, a swirling cyclone bigger than Earth, appears bright white in images captured by the NIRCam instrument on the Webb telescope. The glow from auroras — northern and southern lights — emanate from Jupiter’s poles as the giant planet’s magnetic field interacts with charged particles streaming from the sun.

And in a wider view of the Jupiter system, Webb glimpsed two of Jupiter’s smaller moons, Amalthea and Adrastea. Fuzzy blobs seen below Jupiter and its rings are likely likely galaxies in the distant cosmos.

Milky Way Time Lapse
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss044e045215.jpg>
This time lapse of the Milky Way Galaxy taken from the International Space Station (ISS) also captured a lightning strike on Earth so bright that it lit up the space station’s solar panels.

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/kjell-n-lindgren/biography> posted this on Twitter and Instagram on Sept. 2, 2015, saying, "Large lightning strike on Earth lights up or solar panels."

See more photos <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/images/index.html> from the ISS.

Image credit: NASA/Kjell Lindgren

 <https://secure.planetary.org/site/R?i=RdqTpIm-0_2ChSVBpiofpJvoSBvLUy8yDrhgxCy_Z3MsUAdkgwXk-A>

Send your name and message to an asteroid!

JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission successfully returned a capsule with a sample of asteroid Ryugu to Earth in 2020. Now, the spacecraft is heading on a new journey through deep space to visit the rapidly rotating asteroid 1998 KY26, with a fly-by past asteroid 2001 CC21, on an extended mission called Hayabusa2♯.

JAXA is inviting the public to upload names and messages to the spacecraft to accompany it on this new mission. You can submit yours for free <https://secure.planetary.org/site/R?i=kRF6EvtK3IqPqL0r1cUKtyla4DL6Px07nueIGZk79ihqre2YDqeMYQ>.

Thanks to previous campaigns, many Planetary Society member names already accompanied Hayabusa2 to Ryugu on the target markers the spacecraft dropped on the asteroid and inside the sample return capsule that returned to Earth in 2020. Pictured: An artist's concept of Hayabusa2 touching down on asteroid Ryugu to collect a sample. Image credit: Akihiro Ikeshita/JAXA.

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