Hammad ur Rehman

In 1983, NASA’s Guy Bluford broke barriers and made history as the first African American astronaut in space. Hear from Bluford himself, see footage from his Space Shuttle missions, and celebrate the milestones that forever changed the landscape of space exploration. Bluford’s first mission was STS-8, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Aug. 30, 1983. This was the third flight for the Challenger orbiter, and the first mission with a night launch and night landing. During the mission, the STS-8 crew deployed the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-1B), operated the Canadian-built RMS with the Payload Flight Test Article (PFTA), operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) with live cell samples, conducted medical measurements to understand biophysiological effects of spaceflight, and activated four “Getaway Special” canisters. STS-8 completed 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Sept. 5, 1983.

In this episode, we will tell you about India’s historic feat of landing a spacecraft near the lunar south pole for the first time. We will explain why the lunar south pole is a unique and challenging region, where there might be water ice trapped in the dark craters. We will also describe how India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission aims to study the lunar environment and resources around the south pole, and what it has discovered so far. We will also discuss the future plans and goals of Chandrayaan-3, and how it can benefit humanity’s exploration and utilization of the Moon. This episode is based on the latest updates from ISRO, which you can find on their official website or X (formerly known as Twitter) account. Join us as we explore the secrets and surprises of the Moon’s south pole with Chandrayaan-3.

Chandrayaan 3 Launch Video: Chandrayaan-3 satellite has separated from the rocket and has entered space. ISRO Chief S Somanath wished all the very best for its journey. Mohan Kumar, Mission Kumar added, "pray that it soft lands on the lunar surface"

A crucial find by our James Webb Space Telescope, learning how life might be on Mars, and some tricky testing for a lunar roving robot … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Are there earthquakes on other planets? There sure are, but we don’t call them earthquakes. Instead, “moonquakes” & “marsquakes” are shaking things up in space. Dr. Jacob Richardson of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center explains more about what otherworldly quakes can teach us about not only the interiors of planetary bodies, but also what's happening inside Earth.

In September 2023, scientists with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will gather in the Utah desert for the arrival of the largest asteroid sample ever received on Earth. “Asteroid City” actors, including Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman, Maya Hawke, Rupert Friend, Jake Ryan and Jeffrey Wright, join NASA OSIRIS-REx sample expert Dr. Danny Glavin to discuss how studying the asteroid sample will give scientists insight into how the early solar system formed and how life began on Earth. After a seven-year round trip journey that included mapping Bennu’s surface (a near-Earth asteroid that is no threat to our planet), identifying minerals and chemicals, and collecting a sample from the surface, OSIRIS-REx is on its way back to Earth with more than eight ounces of material. For more information on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/

Equipping the space station to produce more power, our newest experimental X-plane, and preparing to test a new laser communications system … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Find out why July 2023 was a record-breaking month, a high-flying NASA aircraft is helping to study lighting, and making landings safe for flights of the future … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

An international crew is preparing to launch to the International Space Station aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos will perform research technology demonstrations, science experiments, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory. Crew-7 is targeted to launch no earlier than 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-7 marks the eighth human spaceflight mission supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the seventh crew rotation mission to the space station since 2020 for NASA. You can watch the launch live on NASA TV, NASA.gov, the NASA app, and right here on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/QD2XDoeT8SI

Our Webb Space Telescope captures a cosmic ring, the team behind our upcoming Psyche mission, and the unique thing about a star that was ripped apart by a black hole … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Where are the Moon rocks from the Apollo missions kept? When they’re not being studied by institutions or enjoyed by museumgoers, NASA has a specialized Lunar Sample Curation Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to store and keep these otherworldly samples safe. Studying these samples helps us learn more about the origin of not only our moon, but our planet. Deputy Apollo Sample Curator (Sept 2019 – Dec 2022) Dr. Juliane Gross explains more about lunar sample curation.

Sending a swarm of small satellites into orbit, the first views from our newest storm-watching mission, and making the grade for investing in small business … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

What's going on with the hole in the ozone layer? Thanks to a global effort to regulate ozone-depleting substances, the ozone hole is showing signs of recovery and is projected to return to a healthy level by mid-century. However, at NASA, scientists continue to monitor its progress. @NASAGoddard's Qing Liang explains more. Keep up: https://go.nasa.gov/3DhEBvp

What the Webb telescope found way back in the early Universe, another hot trip around the Sun for our Parker Solar Probe, and we’re back in touch with our helicopter on Mars … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Where does space begin? Well, it depends. There’s no sharp boundary that marks the end of atmosphere and beginning of space. But no matter where you draw the line in the sand — or the air — Earth’s atmosphere is full of all kinds of interesting stuff. That’s why scientists like Doug Rowland are studying its many layers: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2919/ea...

On Oct. 14, 2023, a “ring of fire,” or annular, solar eclipse will travel from Oregon coast to the Gulf of Mexico. Weather permitting, most of the Americas will be able to view at least a partial solar eclipse. Click here to see the NASA 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipse Map: https://go.nasa.gov/USEclipseMaps An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, but is just far away enough in its orbit that the Sun is not completely covered—creating a large, bright ring in the sky. WARNING: During an annular eclipse, it is never safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing. How to safely view an eclipse: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses... Not in the path of the eclipse? Watch with us from anywhere in the world. We will provide live broadcast coverage on Oct. 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. EDT (1530-1715 UTC) on NASA TV, NASA.gov, the NASA app, and right here on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/LlY79zjud-Q

What do Metallica and NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon have in common? Both love “Fuel” and fire. See footage of the Artemis I launch scored by Metallica’s “Fuel.” Learn more about how NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft will send four astronauts on a lunar flyby around the Moon for NASA’s Artemis II mission: https://nasa.gov/sls

Here’s a big question: How did life begin on Earth? We don’t quite know, but this fundamental question is a driving force behind astrobiology research at NASA. Understanding how life originated on our planet could inform us about the potential for life to exist throughout the universe. Astrobiology expert Shawn Domagal-Goldman explains more about our search for answers. Explore more about astrobiology at NASA: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov

On May 16, 2023, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew past Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, and then the gas giant soon after. Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Slightly larger than Earth’s moon, Io is a world in constant torment. Not only is the biggest planet in the solar system forever pulling at it gravitationally, but so are its Galilean siblings – Europa and the biggest moon in the solar system, Ganymede. The result is that Io is continuously stretched and squeezed, actions linked to the creation of the lava seen erupting from its many volcanoes. This rendering provides a “starship captain” point of view of the flyby, using images from JunoCam. For both targets, Io and Jupiter, raw JunoCam images were reprojected into views similar to the perspective of a consumer camera. The Io flyby and the Jupiter approach movie were rendered separately and composed into a synchronous split-screen video. Launched on Aug. 5, 2011, Juno embarked on a 5-year journey to Jupiter. Its mission: to probe beneath the planet's dense clouds and answer questions about the origin and evolution of Jupiter, our solar system, and giant planets in general across the cosmos. Juno arrived at the gas giant on July 4, 2016, after a 1.7-billion-mile journey, and settled into a 53-day polar orbit stretching from just above Jupiter’s cloud tops to the outer reaches of the Jovian magnetosphere. Now in its extended mission, NASA’s most distant planetary orbiter continues doing flybys of Jupiter and its moons.

Join the journey as NASA’s Psyche mission team prepares for a targeted Oct. 5, 2023, launch to explore a unique metallic asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid, likely made largely of nickel-iron metal mixed with rock, could contain metal from the core of a planetesimal (the building block of an early rocky planet) and may offer a unique window into the violent history of collisions and accretion that created the terrestrial planets like Earth. Arizona State University leads the Psyche mission. JPL, which is managed by Caltech for NASA, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. For more info about NASA's #MissionToPsyche, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/psyche and https://psyche.asu.edu/

Northrop Grumman's 19th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is carrying scientific investigations including a 3D neuron cell culture to test gene therapy, instruments to monitor plasma density, and an updated potable water dispenser system. The Cygnus spacecraft carrying these experiments to the orbiting laboratory is scheduled to lift off no earlier than August 1 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Learn more about some of the science that's traveling to the space station on this mission: https://go.nasa.gov/43futh0

When it comes to space, humans and robots go way back. We rely heavily on our mechanical friends to perform tasks that are too dangerous, difficult, or out of reach for us humans. We’re even working on a new generation of robots that will help us explore in advanced and novel ways.

Celebrating the Webb Space Telescope’s first year of science, testing remote possibilities of a NASA humanoid robot, and a fleet of clean new rides for Artemis astronauts … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Is climate change the same as global warming? Not quite. The warming of Earth — or global warming — is just one factor that makes up a range of changes that are happening to our planet, which is climate change. And NASA is studying all of it: https://climate.nasa.gov/

We know the Moon contains water, but, could future astronauts access and make use of it? That’s the goal. At NASA, we’re actively trying to answer that question. Once it lands at the lunar south pole, our PRIME-1 — Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 – will robotically sample and analyze ice from beneath the lunar surface, contributing to our search for water on the Moon