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2 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A model of the X-66 aircraft with a wingspan of almost 6 feet was placed in the 12-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia on October 30, 2024. During the tests, the team captured measurements of forces such as lift and drag over many aerodynamic configurations and flight conditions.NASA/Ryan Hill At NASA, each project has milestones to ensure everything stays on track. The agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) project recently passed through one of these markers of progress, as it completed a key phase of…

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5 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) An artist’s concept of NASA’s Europa Clipper shows the spacecraft in silhouette against Europa’s surface, with the magnetometer boom fully deployed at top and the antennas for the radar instrument extending out from the solar arrays.NASA/JPL-Caltech Headed to Jupiter’s moon Europa, the spacecraft is operating without a hitch and will reach Mars in just three months for a gravity assist. NASA’s Europa Clipper, which launched Oct. 14 on a journey to Jupiter’s moon Europa, is already 13 million miles (20 million kilometers) from Earth. Two science instruments have deployed hardware…

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4 min read NASA, JAXA XRISM Mission Looks Deeply Into ‘Hidden’ Stellar System The Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory has captured the most detailed portrait yet of gases flowing within Cygnus X-3, one of the most studied sources in the X-ray sky. Cygnus X-3 is a binary that pairs a rare type of high-mass star with a compact companion — likely a black hole. Cygnus X-3 is a high-mass binary consisting of a compact object (likely a black hole) and a hot Wolf-Rayet star. This artist’s concept shows one interpretation of the system. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy indicates…

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5 Min Read Hats Off to NASA’s Webb: Sombrero Galaxy Dazzles in New Image NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged the Sombrero galaxy with its MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), resolving the clumpy nature of the dust along the galaxy’s outer ring. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI In a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a galaxy named for its resemblance to a broad-brimmed Mexican hat appears more like an archery target. In Webb’s mid-infrared view of the Sombrero galaxy, also known as Messier 104 (M104), the signature, glowing core seen in visible-light images does not shine, and instead…

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Caption: Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander, seen here, will carry 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon’s near side when it launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. Credit: Firefly Aerospace Media accreditation is open for the next delivery to the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign for the benefit of humanity. A six-day launch window opens no earlier than mid-January 2025 for the first Firefly Aerospace launch to the…

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Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 2 min read Sol 4370-4371: All About the Polygons NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera…

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1 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Dr. Misty Davies receives the prestigious AIAA Fellowship in May 2024 for her contributions to aerospace safety and autonomous systems, recognized at a ceremony in Washington, DC.NASA In May 2024, Dr. Misty Davies joined the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Class of 2024 Fellows at a ceremony in Washington, DC.  The AIAA website states that, “AIAA confers Fellow upon individuals in recognition of their notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics and astronautics.”  The first AIAA Fellows were elected in 1934; since then only…

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8 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Return to 2024 SARP Closeout Faculty Advisors: Dr. Tom Bell, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Dr. Kelsey Bisson, NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate Graduate Mentor: Kelby Kramer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Kelby Kramer, Graduate Mentor Kelby Kramer, graduate mentor for the 2024 SARP Ocean Remote Sensing group, provides an introduction for each of the group members and shares behind-the scenes moments from the internship. Lucas DiSilvestro Shallow Water Benthic Cover Type Classification using Hyperspectral Imagery in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii Lucas DiSilvestro Quantifying the changing structure and extent of benthic coral…

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10 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Return to 2024 SARP Closeout Faculty Advisors: Dr. Guanyu Huang, Stony Brook University Graduate Mentor: Ryan Schmedding, McGill University Ryan Schmedding, Graduate Mentor Ryan Schmedding, graduate mentor for the 2024 SARP Atmospheric Science group, provides an introduction for each of the group members and shares behind-the scenes moments from the internship. Danielle Jones Remote sensing of poor air quality in mountains: A case study in Kathmandu, Nepal Danielle Jones Urban activity produces particulate matter in the atmosphere known as aerosol particles. These aerosols can negatively affect human health and cause…

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10 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Return to 2024 SARP Closeout Faculty Advisors: Dr. Dom Ciruzzi, College of William & Mary Graduate Mentor: Marley Majetic, Pennsylvania State University Marley Majetic, Graduate Mentor Marley Majetic, graduate mentor for the 2024 SARP Hydroecology group, provides an introduction for each of the group members and shares behind-the scenes moments from the internship. Jordan DiPrima How are different land cover types affected by land subsidence on the U.S. Atlantic Coast? Jordan DiPrima Land subsidence is a frequently overlooked geologic hazard that is caused by natural processes and, more recently, anthropogenic…

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