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

Sat Dec 14 09:43:54 CST 2024

Good evening all…

   I don’t know how many times I start these newsletters then take 3-4 weeks to finish…I am on plane from Frankfurt Germany to Amsterdam….it is about 6 pm, 9 December…I left my house at 4pm yesterday going to Orlando…to Frankfurt, to Amsterdam, to Morocco….there have been delays on every flight, so much so that I missed one connection which caused me to miss the last leg although this flight is delayed 4 1/2 hours which allowed me to make it …I have about 2 1/2 hours….it is really cold in this airport, especially late at night when there aren’t a lot of people…still, very thankful that I am able to make this connection…the flight from Amsterdam to Morocco was also delayed over 5 hours which allowed me to make this connection…I reached Morocco around 4am Tuesday morning…

Today is the 14th, so I’ve done fairly well at completing this :-) I was invited to participate in the First International Conference on Bio-Materials Science, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. I have limited knowledge in this area but found it very interesting…I believe the presentation went well as many people had questions and stayed after to hang outing she thoughts…I am extremely thankful to Fatima and Ahmed for this opportunity…the conference was held in Nador, a beautiful city located on the Sebkha Bou Areq lagoon on the Mediterranean coastline. I am now in the city of Al-Hoceima located on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the beautiful Mediterranean Sea…the water is amazing, crystal clear…

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 and smiles… STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE, Love ya, Gabe  

ARTEMIS
More delays for the Artemis mission…we have been waiting for Artemis II & III with III taking astronauts to the moon…it is interesting because Artemis II being assembled in The VAB yet we are hearing of delays until 26 for II and Artemis III is expected to launch in mid-2027 as the first crewed landing on the Moon since Apollo 17. In February 2024, NASA completed full qualification testing of the docking systems on Starship HLS.

NASA’s Artemis II Mission

WHEN

2026
MISSION

Artemis II
 <https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/>
Artemis II

Four astronauts will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA's path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The 10-day flight will test NASA's foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts.

NASA’s Artemis III Mission

WHEN

2027
MISSION

Artemis III
 <https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/>
Artemis III

Over the course of about 30 days, the Artemis III astronauts will travel to lunar orbit, where two crew members will descend to the surface and spend approximately a week near the South Pole of the Moon conducting new science before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to Earth.

Hubble Images a Grand Spiral

 <https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-images-a-grand-spiral/> <https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-images-a-grand-spiral/>
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the glorious spiral galaxy NGC 5643, which is located roughly 40 million light-years away in the constellation Lupus, the Wolf. NGC 5643 is a grand design spiral, which refers to the galaxy’s symmetrical…

Article

 <https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/hubble-captures-an-edge-on-spiral-with-curve-appeal/>Hubble Captures an Edge-On Spiral with Curve Appeal

 <https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/hubble-captures-an-edge-on-spiral-with-curve-appeal/>This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a spiral galaxy, named UGC 10043. We don’t see the galaxy’s spiral arms because we are seeing it from the side. Located roughly 150 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens, UGC 10043 is…

NASA's Mars plans need 'paradigm shifts' to succeed
 <https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/sMfGCKojllDEeXgzCigydsCicNoJbp?format=multipart>
 <https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/sMfGCKojllDEeXgzCigydsCicNoJbp>
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

NASA has released a new document that highlights planned programmatic paradigm shifts in Mars exploration over the next 20 years. This plan was prepared for the NASA Science Mission Directorate's Mars Exploration Program (MEP). The report is titled "Expanding the Horizons of Mars Science: A Plan for a Sustainable Science Program at Mars -- Mars Exploration Program 2024-2044."
 Full Story: Space <https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/sMfGCKojllDEeXgzCigydsCicNoJbp?format=multipart> (12/13) 

Extraterrestrial life may look nothing like life on Earth
 <https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/sMfGCKojllDEeXgECigydsCicNNdkw?format=multipart>
 <https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/sMfGCKojllDEeXgECigydsCicNNdkw>
(kasezo via Getty Images)

We have only one example of biology forming in the universe - life on Earth. But what if life can form in other ways? How do you look for alien life when you don't know what alien life might look like? These questions are preoccupying astrobiologists, who are scientists who look for life beyond Earth. Astrobiologists have attempted to come up with universal rules that govern the emergence of complex physical and biological systems both on Earth and beyond.

'SALLY' at Sundance: NatGeo film on 1st US woman in space
 <https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/sMfGCKojllDEeXgFCigydsCicNWgzh?format=multipart>
 <https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/sMfGCKojllDEeXgFCigydsCicNWgzh>
(National Geographic)

A new documentary about the life and love of America's first woman in space will premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. "SALLY," from National Geographic and director Cristina Costantini, reveals the legacy of NASA astronaut Sally Ride. Featuring archival footage filmed both on the ground and in space, along with new interviews with Ride's close friends and colleagues, the documentary allows access to the "real Ride," who struggled with the "limits and sacrifices true heroism demands.”

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Reaches Top of 

Jezero Crater Rim

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-rover-reaches-top-of-jezero-crater-rim/ 
The road ahead will be even more scientifically intriguing, and probably somewhat easier-going, now that the six-wheeler has completed its long climb to the top.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has crested the top of Jezero Crater’s rim at a location the science team calls “Lookout Hill” and rolling toward its first science stop after the monthslong climb. The rover made the ascent in order to explore a region of Mars unlike anywhere it has investigated before.

Taking about 3½ months and ascending 1,640 vertical feet (500 vertical meters), the rover climbed 20% grades, making stops along the way for science observations. Perseverance’s science team shared some of their work and future plans at a media briefing held Thursday, Dec. 12, in Washington at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting, the country’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists.

“During the Jezero Crater rim climb, our rover drivers have done an amazing job negotiating some of the toughest terrain <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-rover-looks-back-while-climbing-slippery-slope/> we’ve encountered since landing,” said Steven Lee, deputy project manager for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “They developed innovative approaches to overcome these challenges — even tried driving backward to see if it would help — and the rover has come through it all like a champ. Perseverance is ‘go’ for everything the science team wants to throw at it during this next science campaign.”
Dec. 12, 2024
 <https://d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net/original_images/1-PIA26511-Perseverances_View_From_the_Top_Lookout_Hill.png>

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