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

[Gabe Gabrielle]

hi all,

   I know it has been a while…it is amazing how fast time goes…days, weeks, even months evaporate, it seems, in the blink of an eye…I am so very thankful…to be healthy, fit, and able to do anything I like…going to the gym & swimming 6 days a week has been very rewarding mentally as it is always a challenge…the sense of accomplishment is the best part while staying in decent shape is a spinoff…

 There are always exciting events in the space program…the James Webb telescope is progressing wonderfully, continuous flights to the Space Station, new breakthroughs on Mars…and the Roll Out of SLS with Orion to the pad…

It seems Covid is no longer a “threatening issue” with many countries opening , masks requirements going away, most people seem unconcerned…I really don’t know…there seems to be so much conflicting guidance….I am leaving for Brazil in 8 days…I know I need a Covid test and there are still additional requirements…

the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia…so sad, thousands will die, hundreds of thousands will lose everything…there has to be a better way…I would hope, in 2022, all this would be behind us…with Russia as an intricate partner in the space program…we wonder the affects…one of the most interesting questions ever asked was by a 10 year old boy in the US…why can the astronauts from so many different countries get along in space….and we can’t get along on earth?  

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

 

It has been an amazing year for launches, it seems one a week…they are so special…I am a volunteer as a Foreign National Escort so I accompany visitors to the launch…on Tuesday we saw an Atlas V launch…it was spectacular…as are all…for me, it never gets “old”…sharing the excitement of the visitors is also so much fun…

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ksc-20220301-ph-kls01_0026_large.jpg>
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket, carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T), lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 1, 2022.
Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett

A View of the Red Planet (in Blue)
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia25075.jpeg>
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover snapped this view of a hill in Mars' Jezero Crater called "Santa Cruz" on April 29, 2021, the 68th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. About 20 inches (50 centimeters) across on average, the boulders in the foreground are among the type of rocks the rover team has named "Ch'al" (the Navajo term for "frog" and pronounced "chesh").

Composed of multiple images, this enhanced-color mosaic was created using the left- and right-eye views of Perseverance's Mastcam-Z camera system, merging the scene into a single, wider view. Santa Cruz hill is a possible eroded remnant of Jezero Crater's western delta. The hill is about 164 feet (50 meters) tall and was roughly 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) east of the rover when the photo was taken, viewed from "Van Zyl Overlook."

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS


 <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/releases/2022/nasa-announces-launch-options-for-2022-student-launch-competition.html#> <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/releases/2022/nasa-announces-launch-options-for-2022-student-launch-competition.html#> <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/releases/2022/nasa-announces-launch-options-for-2022-student-launch-competition.html#> <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/releases/2022/nasa-announces-launch-options-for-2022-student-launch-competition.html#> <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/releases/2022/nasa-announces-launch-options-for-2022-student-launch-competition.html#>
NASA Announces Launch Options for 2022 Student Launch Competition
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/msfc-201900280_large.jpg>
Students from California State University, Long Beach, prepare to compete in the 2019 Student Launch.
Credits: NASA/Fred Deaton
 <applewebdata://58BB4873-424B-43CF-AC94-ACE33A31A195>
NASA’s 2022 Student Launch <https://www.nasa.gov/stem/studentlaunch/home/index.html> rocketry challenge will provide both in-person and virtual opportunities for the competition’s culminating event.

The in-person option will include a two-day event, with hardware checks Friday, April 22, and launch day Saturday, April 23, in Huntsville, Alabama. If rain is a factor April 23, a makeup day is scheduled for Sunday, April 24. Alternatively, Launch Division teams may conduct final test flights at a home launch field, as outlined in the Student Launch Handbook <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2022_nasa_students_launch_handbook.pdf>. Teams may also opt to compete in the Design Division. This year’s awards ceremony will be held virtually, after the at-home launch window closes May 9.

Student Launch challenges middle school, high school, college, and university students from around the United States to design, build, test, and fly a payload and high-powered amateur rocket to an altitude between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. Teams also must meet multiple documentation and presentation milestones with NASA experts as they develop their rocket. Teams are scored in nearly a dozen other categories, including safety, vehicle design, social media presence, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics engagement.

This year’s competition will feature a virtual Launch Month in place of an in-person launch week. All teams will be invited to participate in virtual exhibits/tours, presentations by NASA subject matter experts, rocket fair sessions, and a career fair in the weeks surrounding the in-person launch. 
The Student Launch management team carefully evaluated COVID-19 conditions and weighed concerns when deciding to hold an in-person event. Procedures and precautions will be in place at the hardware checks and launch to reduce the risk of virus transmission.  
NASA’s Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement manages Student Launch, one of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges <https://stem.nasa.gov/artemis/>. These activities stimulate innovation and advance NASA’s human exploration mission through collaboration with educational institutions and students – the Artemis Generation, who will help NASA explore the Moon and Mars. The agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center <https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/home/index.html> in Huntsville hosts Student Launch.
For more information about Student Launch, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/studentlaunch/home/index.html <https://www.nasa.gov/stem/studentlaunch/home/index.html>
For more information about other engineering challenges NASA hosts, visit: https://stem.nasa.gov/artemis/ <https://stem.nasa.gov/artemis/>
Christopher Blair
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
christopher.e.blair at nasa.gov <mailto:christopher.e.blair at nasa.gov>

Eagle, Omega Nebula, Trifid, and Lagoon: Four Famous Nebulae




These four nebulae are known for their breathtaking beauty: the Eagle Nebula (which contains the Pillars of Creation), the Omega Nebula, the Trifid Nebula, and the Lagoon Nebula.

Galaxy Collision Creates 'Space Triangle' in New Hubble Image
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_arp143.png>
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445 at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444 at left.
Astronomers suggest that the galaxies passed through each other, igniting the uniquely shaped star-formation firestorm in NGC 2445, where thousands of stars are bursting to life on the right-hand side of the image. This galaxy is awash in starbirth because it is rich in gas, the fuel that makes stars. However, it hasn’t yet escaped the gravitational clutches of its partner NGC 2444, shown on the left side of the image. The pair is waging a cosmic tug-of-war, which NGC 2444 appears to be winning. The galaxy has pulled gas from NGC 2445, forming the oddball triangle of newly minted stars.

Hubble's Cartwheel <https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/hubble-s-cartwheel> galaxy image showcases another example of intense, ringed star formation after galaxies collide.

“Simulations show that head-on collisions between two galaxies is one way of making rings of new stars,” said astronomer Julianne Dalcanton of the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics in New York and the University of Washington in Seattle. “Therefore, rings of star formation are not uncommon. However, what’s weird about this system is that it’s a triangle of star formation. Part of the reason for that shape is that these galaxies are still so close to each other and NGC 2444 is still holding on to the other galaxy gravitationally. NGC 2444 may also have an invisible hot halo of gas that could help to pull NGC 2445’s gas away from its nucleus. So they’re not completely free of each other yet, and their unusual interaction is distorting the ring into this triangle.”

NGC 2444 is also responsible for yanking taffy-like strands of gas from its partner, stoking the streamers of young, blue stars that appear to form a bridge between the two galaxies.

These streamers are among the first in what appears to be a wave of star formation that started on NGC 2445’s outskirts and continued inward. Researchers estimate the streamer stars were born between about 50 million and 100 million years ago. But these infant stars are being left behind as NGC 2445 continues to pull slowly away from NGC 2444.
Stars no older than 1 million to 2 million years are forming closer to the center of NGC 2445. Hubble’s keen sharpness reveals some individual stars. They are the brightest and most massive in the galaxy. Most of the brilliant blue clumps are groupings of stars. The pink blobs are giant, young, star clusters still enshrouded in dust and gas.
Although most of the action is happening in NGC 2445, it doesn’t mean the other half of the interacting pair has escaped unscathed. The gravitational tussle has stretched NGC 2444 into an odd shape. The galaxy contains old stars and no new starbirth because it lost its gas long ago, well before this galactic encounter.
“This is a nearby example of the kinds of interactions that happened long ago. It’s a fantastic sandbox to understand star formation and interacting galaxies,” said Elena Sabbi of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/galaxy-collision-creates-space-triangle-in-new-hubble-image <https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/galaxy-collision-creates-space-triangle-in-new-hubble-image> 
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled an unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Lead Producer: Paul Morris


SEND YOUR NAME TO THE MOON, GET BOARDING PASS…

https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/ <https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/>


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