<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><font size="4" class="">Good morning all,</font><div class=""><font size="4" class=""> I hope you had a wonderful weekend, celebrating Valentine’s Day in way that made your day so very special….<font color="#ff2600" class="">I want to add, even though late, A Very Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in Norway</font>….that had to be fun, Valentine’s Day & Mother’s day on the same day….very exciting for all the mom’s and for all the kids to make their mom feel special on such a magical day…..March 1st will be a special day as the One-Year Mission crew members NASA
astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will conclude 340
days aboard the International Space Station, returning in the Soyuz TMA-18M
spacecraft along with Russian cosmonaut Sergey Volkov. Kelly and Kornienko
arrived at the station March 27, 2015, and Volkov joined the crew aboard the
orbiting laboratory Sept. 4, 2015. Landing is scheduled at 11:27 p.m. ET (4:27
UTC and 10:27 a.m. local time in Kazakhstan on March 2). One-Year Mission crew
members NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will
conclude 340 days aboard the International Space Station, returning in the
Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft along with Russian cosmonaut Sergey Volkov. Kelly and
Kornienko arrived at the station March 27, 2015, and Volkov joined the crew
aboard the orbiting laboratory Sept. 4, 2015. Landing is scheduled at 11:27
p.m. ET (4:27 UTC and 10:27 a.m. local time in Kazakhstan on March 2). This will conclude an almost year long medical study of Scott on the ISS and his identical twin brother on earth to see what affects a year in space has on the human body compared to a year on earth of his twin… </font><span style="font-size: large;" class="">on Thursday I will get to do something interesting as I will be part of a group going to the Daytona International Speedway to support a NASA booth answering questions for the race fans about the NASA mission. This is speed week, leading up to the Daytona 500, one of the most famous races in the US. For me, it will also be an opportunity to speak with teachers about the Speakers’ Bureau and more opportunities to visit schools as well as see some great races….</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 19px;" class="">wishing you a wonderful day...we have to always remember to do our best, enjoy everything we do, live in the present, be appreciative of the good in our lives, make each day special, let those we care about most know, smile & have fun! Gabe</span></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="dnd-drop-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/carousel_hearts-cr.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" width="320" height="241" alt="Two heart illustration" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px;" apple-inline="yes" id="A9E7548A-9F2E-4537-91EE-4E34A1AD8B4D" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:C1D83FA7-E1D3-495E-BAE6-988D96500512" class=""></a></div><div class="dnd-legend-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="caption" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Technology used to study the "love" between particles is also being used in research to improve communications between space and Earth.</div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="title-bar" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 2em 0px;"><div class="title-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 738.75px; padding: 0px;"><h1 class="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.1; color: inherit; font-size: 2.2em;">Astronaut Peggy Whitson Trains For a Spacewalk</h1></div></div><div class="feature-image-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px -2em 2em;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/24740532011_5011511372_o.jpg" data-bindattr-939="939" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><img class="feature-image" alt="NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in spacesuit during training underwater " data-bindattr-940="940" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%;" apple-inline="yes" id="3B25C607-AA5F-4DFF-B076-B0E2E39D5012" height="695" width="1041" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:4F7E70EE-6236-46F4-A205-8FB44DAC100A"></a></div><section id="ember931" class="opened collapsible ember-view" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: none; overflow-y: hidden;"><div class="text" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson trains underwater for a spacewalk at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Whitson is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in late 2016 as part of Expedition 50/51.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">Dr. Whitson first traveled to the space station as a crew member of Expedition 5, launching aboard the space shuttle STS-111 mission and returning six months later on STS-113. She was named the first NASA Science Officer during her stay, and she conducted 21 investigations in human life sciences and microgravity sciences as well as commercial payloads. Whitson became the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2469.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">first woman to command the International Space Station</a> in October 2007, leading Expedition 16 during a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.</p><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="has-image has-tag article-banner-container" data-bindattr-921="921" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-height: 50px; width: 1041px; position: relative;"><div class="article-banner" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top-width: 8px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(93, 127, 185);"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/22365637226_4e7b086d36_k.jpg" data-bindattr-947="947" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><img alt="EM1 SLS Launch Animation" data-bindattr-948="948" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" apple-inline="yes" id="00319AC5-AA7B-4BE8-AD9B-762590B97740" height="198" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:A10254C6-E20F-421E-A33F-E35FD5829948" class=""></a></div></div><div class="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 2em; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"><div class="title-bar" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 2em 0px;"><div class="press-release-info" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 985px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><div class="pr-promo-date-time" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Feb. 2, 2016</div><div class="pr-promo-release-type-id" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><span class="release-type" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span class="release-id" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 7px;">16-011</span></div></div><div class="addthis-wrap pull-right" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right !important; padding: 0px; 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clear: both;"></div><div class="atclear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;"></div><div class="atclear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;"></div><div class="atclear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;"></div><div class="atclear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="title-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 738.75px; padding: 0px;"><h1 class="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.1; color: inherit; font-size: 2.2em;">NASA Space Launch System’s First Flight to Send Small Sci-Tech Satellites Into Space</h1></div></div><section id="ember941" class="opened collapsible ember-view" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: none; overflow-y: hidden;"><div class="text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="type-image dnd-atom-wrapper context-side_image" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px 3em 2em; max-width: 320px; float: right; clear: right; width: 320px;"><div class="dnd-drop-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lunar_flashlight_over_south_pole.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" width="320" height="241" alt="lunar flashlight" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px;" apple-inline="yes" id="1D61226B-9CB9-4AC0-ADCA-07A5798EE28B" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:A57EC42B-80EA-4E96-8F56-878FCAA3E65B" class=""></a></div><div class="dnd-legend-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11px;"><div class="caption" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Lunar Flashlight, flying as secondary payload on the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System, will examine the moon’s surface for ice deposits and identify locations where resources may be extracted.</div><div class="credits" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;">Credits: NASA</div><div class="link" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: inherit; background-attachment: inherit; background-origin: inherit; background-clip: inherit; background-size: inherit; padding: 0px;"><a href="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); background-position: 0px 0px;" class=""></a></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">The first flight of NASA’s new rocket, the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">Space Launch System</a> (SLS), will carry 13 CubeSats to test innovative ideas along with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft in 2018.</p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">These small satellite secondary payloads will carry science and technology investigations to help pave the way for future human exploration in deep space, including the journey to Mars. SLS’ first flight, referred to as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), provides the rare opportunity for these small experiments to reach deep space destinations, as most launch opportunities for CubeSats are limited to low-Earth orbit.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">The 13 CubeSats that will fly to deep space as secondary payloads aboard SLS on EM-1 showcase the intersection of science and technology, and advance our journey to Mars,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">The secondary payloads were selected through a series of announcements of flight opportunities, a NASA challenge and negotiations with NASA’s international partners.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">“The SLS is providing an incredible opportunity to conduct science missions and test key technologies beyond low-Earth orbit," said Bill Hill, deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This rocket has the unprecedented power to send Orion to deep space plus room to carry 13 small satellites – payloads that will advance our knowledge about deep space with minimal cost.”</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">NASA selected two payloads through the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/next-space-technologies-for-exploration-partnerships-nextstep-projects" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px;" class="">NextSTEP</a>) Broad Agency Announcement:</div><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;" class=""><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-selects-lockheed-martin-s-skyfire-cubesat-for-em-1-secondary-payload" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">Skyfire </a>- </span>Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Denver, Colorado, will develop a CubeSat to perform a lunar flyby of the moon, taking sensor data during the flyby to enhance our knowledge of the lunar surface</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/lunar-icecube-to-take-on-big-mission-from-small-package" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">Lunar IceCube</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class=""> - </span>Morehead State University, Kentucky, will build a CubeSat to search for water ice and other resources at a low orbit of only 62 miles above the surface of the moon</li></ul><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">Three payloads were selected by NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate:</div><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;" class=""><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/nea-scout" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, or NEA Scout</span></a> will perform reconnaissance of an asteroid, take pictures and observe its position in space</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/engineering/projects/biosentinel.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">BioSentinel</span> </a>will use yeast to detect, measure and compare the impact of deep space radiation on living organisms over long durations in deep space</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/lunar-flashlight-selected-to-fly-as-secondary-payload-on-exploration-mission-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">Lunar Flashlight</span></a> will look for ice deposits and identify locations where resources may be extracted from the lunar surface</li></ul><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">Two payloads were selected by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate:</div><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;" class=""><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/heliophysics-cubesat-to-launch-on-nasa-s-sls" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">CuSP </span></a>– a “space weather station” to measure particles and magnetic fields in space, testing practicality for a network of stations to monitor space weather</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/lunah-map-university-built-cubesat-to-map-water-ice-on-the-moon" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">LunaH-Map</a> </span>will map hydrogen within craters and other permanently shadowed regions throughout the moon’s south pole</li></ul><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">Three additional payloads will be determined through <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/cubequest" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px;" class="">NASA’s Cube Quest Challenge</a> – sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and designed to foster innovations in small spacecraft propulsion and communications techniques. CubeSat builders will vie for a launch opportunity on SLS’ first flight through a competition that has four rounds, referred to as ground tournaments<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">, </span>leading to the selection in 2017 of the payloads to fly on the mission.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">NASA has also reserved three slots for payloads from international partners. Discussions to fly those three payloads are ongoing, and they will be announced at a later time.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">On this first flight, SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the moon to demonstrate the integrated system performance of Orion and the SLS rocket prior to the first crewed flight. The <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/SLS_Concepts.html?id=372149" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px;" class="">first configuration</a> of SLS that will fly on EM-1 is referred to as Block I and will have a minimum 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capability and be powered by twin boosters and four RS-25 engines. The CubeSats will be deployed following Orion separation from the upper stage and once Orion is a safe distance away. Each payload will be ejected with a spring mechanism from dispensers on the Orion stage adapter. Following deployment, the transmitters on the CubeSats will turn on, and ground stations will listen for their beacons to determine the functionality of these small satellites.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">For more information about the science missions and technology demonstrations to fly on EM-1, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/launching-science-and-technology.html" style="text-align: center; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">http://www.nasa.gov/launching-science-and-technology.html </span></a></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">For more information about NASA’s Journey to Mars, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/journeytomars" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" class="">http://www.nasa.gov/journeytomars</span></a></p><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="title-bar" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 2em 0px;"><div class="title-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 738.75px; padding: 0px;"><h1 class="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.1; color: inherit; font-size: 2.2em;"> Hubble Watches the Icy Blue Wings of Hen 2-437</h1></div></div><div class="feature-image-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px -2em 2em;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/potw1606a.jpg" data-bindattr-941="941" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><img class="feature-image" alt="Hubble image of planetary nebula Hen 2-437" data-bindattr-942="942" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%;" apple-inline="yes" id="9D71C284-F685-45E7-B0C0-7C43DE8A39F0" height="448" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:5017444A-9725-4619-9E66-CAF4F04C0A21"></a></div><section id="ember933" class="opened collapsible ember-view" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: none; overflow-y: hidden;"><div class="text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">In this cosmic snapshot, the spectacularly symmetrical wings of Hen 2-437 show up in a magnificent icy blue hue. Hen 2-437 is a planetary nebula, one of around 3,000 such objects known to reside within the Milky Way.</p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">Located within the faint northern constellation of Vulpecula (The Fox), Hen 2-437 was first identified in 1946 by Rudolph Minkowski, who later also discovered the famous and equally beautiful M2-9 (otherwise known as the <a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1518/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px;" class="">Twin Jet Nebula</a>). Hen 2-437 was added to a catalog of planetary nebula over two decades later by astronomer and NASA astronaut Karl Gordon Henize.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">Planetary nebulae such as Hen 2-437 form when an aging low-mass star — such as the sun — reaches the final stages of life. The star swells to become a red giant, before casting off its gaseous outer layers into space. The star itself then slowly shrinks to form a white dwarf, while the expelled gas is slowly compressed and pushed outwards by stellar winds. As shown by its remarkably beautiful appearance, Hen 2-437 is a bipolar nebula — the material ejected by the dying star has streamed out into space to create the two icy blue lobes pictured here.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class=""><div class="title-bar" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 2em 0px;"><div class="title-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 738.75px; padding: 0px;"><h1 class="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.1; color: inherit; font-size: 2.2em;">Aurora and the Pacific Northwest</h1></div></div><div class="feature-image-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px -2em 2em;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/24204469670_22435fdeab_o.jpg" data-bindattr-1962="1962" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(42, 100, 150); outline: 0px; background-position: 0px 0px;" class=""><img class="feature-image" alt="Bright lights of an aurora and city lights on Earth photographed from low Earth orbit" data-bindattr-1963="1963" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%;" apple-inline="yes" id="B1FBA5BE-B385-4540-8AD3-076F37E19C8F" height="167" width="250" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:7B8794B5-A530-49AD-92C3-5BE5C7CD5648"></a></div><section id="ember1954" class="collapsible ember-view" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: 12em; overflow-y: hidden;"><div class="text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and ESA astronaut Tim Peake shared a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/timpeake/albums/72157663612677991" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">series of aurora photographs</a> taken from the International Space Station on Jan. 20, 2016. <a href="https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/689796831933501440" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) wrote</a>, "#goodmorning #aurora and the Pacific Northwest! #YearInSpace" and <a href="https://twitter.com/astro_timpeake/status/689804354296123392" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">Peake (@astro_timpeake)</a> followed up with, "Getting a photo masterclass from @StationCDRKelly – magical #aurora"</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">The dancing lights of the aurora provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun. Aurora are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em;" class=""></p></div></section></div></div></section></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; line-height: 1.4em;" class=""><div class="title-bar" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 2em 0px;"><div class="title-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 738.75px; padding: 0px;"><h1 class="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.1; color: inherit; font-size: 2.2em;">Morpheus Prototype Uses Hazard Detection System to Land Safely in Dark</h1></div></div><div class="feature-image-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px -2em 2em;"><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/2014-2707.jpg" data-bindattr-2051="2051" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><img class="feature-image" alt="NASA demonstrated that it can land an unmanned spacecraft on a rugged planetary surface in the pitch dark in a May 28, 2014 free" data-bindattr-2052="2052" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%;" apple-inline="yes" id="48414A5A-A399-406D-8D8E-4D90DF97E83E" height="141" width="250" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:6C2982F0-D8CD-4B12-B6CA-B99326965EAB"></a></div><section id="ember2041" class="collapsible ember-view" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: 12em; overflow-y: hidden;"><div class="text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">NASA demonstrated that it can land an unmanned spacecraft on a rugged planetary surface in the pitch dark in a May 28, 2014 free-flight test of the Morpheus prototype lander and Autonomous Landing Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT. The 98-second test began at 10:02 p.m. EDT, with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet (244 m) into the dark Florida sky at Kennedy Space Center using only ALHAT's Hazard Detection System for guidance. The Hazard Detection System, assisted by three light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors, located obstacles -- such as rocks and craters -- and safely landed on the lunar-like hazard field a quarter mile away from the NASA Center.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em;" class="">Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em;" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/larc/morpheus-uses-hazard-detection-system-to-land-safely-in-the-dark/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">> Read more</a><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" class=""><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pbl8zR9o5o" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">> Video: Morpheus Completes Nighttime Flight Test</a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; -webkit-font-smoothing: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.4em;" class=""><em style="box-sizing: border-box;" class="">Image Credit: NASA/Mike Chambers</em></p><div class="editor-info" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;"><div class="date" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Last Updated: July 30, 2015</div><div class="editor" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Editor: Sarah Loff</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></section></div></div></section></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></section></div></body></html>