AstronautVideo

OSIRIS-REx Slings Orbital Web Around Asteroid to Capture Sample | 4K 101955 Bennu is one of Earth’s closest planetary neighbors – an asteroid roughly the height of a skyscraper, and since late 2018, the place that NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has called home. When OSIRIS-REx arrived on Dec. 3, 2018, it began wrapping Bennu in a complex web of observations. OSIRIS-REx departs Bennu on May 10, 2021, on a return voyage to Earth, bringing with it over 60 grams of sample collected from the asteroid. This narrated video presents the mission’s complete trajectory during its time at Bennu. Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio Dan Gallagher (USRA): Producer Kel Elkins (USRA): Producer Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Data Visualizer Dan Gallagher (USRA): Narrator Michael Moreau (NASA/GSFC): Deputy Project Manager Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona): Principal Investigator Kenny Getzandanner (NASA/GSFC): Engineer

This video uses data gathered from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft to recreate some of the stunning views of the Moon that the Apollo 13 astronauts saw on their perilous journey around the farside in 1970. These visualizations, in 4K resolution, depict many different views of the lunar surface, starting with earthset and sunrise and concluding with the time Apollo 13 reestablished radio contact with Mission Control. Also depicted is the path of the free return trajectory around the Moon, and a continuous view of the Moon throughout that path. All views have been sped up for timing purposes — they are not shown in "real-time." Credits: Data Visualization by: Ernie Wright (USRA) Video Produced & Edited by: David Ladd (USRA) Music provided by Universal Production Music: "Visions of Grandeur" - Frederick Wiedmann

After months aboard the International Space Station, the astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission are returning home. Traveling back to Earth inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule are NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. During their time aboard the orbiting laboratory, these crew members contributed to ongoing and new scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, work that is helping to prepare humans for future space exploration missions and generating innovations and benefits for humanity on Earth.

A new Earth science mission, led by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), will help communities plan for a better future by surveying the planet’s salt and freshwater bodies. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the oceans. As climate change accelerates the water cycle, more communities around the world will be inundated with water while others won’t have enough. SWOT data will be used to improve flood forecasts and monitor drought conditions, providing essential information to water management agencies, civil engineers, universities, the U.S. Department of Defense, disaster preparedness agencies, and others who need to track water in their local areas. In this video, examples of how SWOT data will be used in these communities are shared by a National Weather Service representative in Oregon, an Alaska Department of Transportation engineer, researchers from the University of Oregon and University of North Carolina, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist working with the Department of Defense, and a JPL scientist working with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Agency. SWOT is expected to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in December 2022. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and UK Space Agency. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/Thales Alenia Space

After months aboard the International Space Station, the astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission are returning home. Traveling back to Earth inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule are NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. During their time aboard the orbiting laboratory, these crew members contributed to ongoing and new scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, work that is helping to prepare humans for future space exploration missions and generating innovations and benefits for humanity on Earth. Credit: NASA #space #iss #spacex

Are hurricanes getting stronger? Although we’ll never see a Category 6 hurricane, data does show that more hurricanes are becoming more severe. Hurricane and climate expert Mara Cordero-Fuentes of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center tells us more about the connection between climate change and tropical cyclones. Producers: Scott Bednar, Jessica Wilde Editor: Daniel Salazar Credit: NASA

The 18th Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station carries scientific investigations of topics such as 3D printing of knee cartilage, plant mutations, and mudflow structure—along with a demonstration of camera technology and small satellites from Japan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The Cygnus spacecraft carrying these investigations to the orbiting laboratory is scheduled for liftoff no earlier than Nov. 6, 2022 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Learn more about some of the scientific research traveling to the station on this mission: CREDIT: NASA #NASA #SpaceStation #Science

How do spacecraft slow down? Rigid heat shields and retropropulsion have been the favorites of engineers for years. Now NASA is testing a new inflatable heat shield technology that could allow us to carry even larger payloads to worlds with atmospheres: https://www.nasa.gov/loftid Launching on Nov. 1 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket along with NOAA’s JPSS-2 mission, the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, will demonstrate the heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive atmospheric entry: https://go.nasa.gov/3N7yzBG Producers: Scott Bednar, Jessica Wilde Editor: Daniel Salazar Credit: NASA #NASA #Technology #Spacecraft

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is filling sample tubes with rocky material on the Red Planet as the agency works on the next steps to get them safely back to Earth. The Mars Sample Return campaign would bring samples collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth for detailed study. The campaign involves an international interplanetary relay team, including the European Space Agency (ESA). These samples could answer a key question: did life ever exist on Mars? Aaron Yazzie, who works on the Mars Sample Return campaign, explains the work being done at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to ensure the safe return of the sample tubes. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech