NASA

When NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley launched to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavor spacecraft, the world was watching. They also took 90,000 people along for the ride in a mosaic of Earth that include photos of Class of 2020 graduates In this video, the crew members talk to Benji Reed, the SpaceX Director of Crew Mission Management, before displaying the graduation mosaic to honor those who graduated this spring during the coronavirus pandemic

NASA astronaut Bob Behnken is a native of Missouri and a veteran of two space shuttle flights. Behnken flew STS-123 in March 2008 and STS-130 in February 2010, logging more than 708 hours in space, and more than 37 hours during six spacewalks. Behnken is currently serving as Joint Operations Commander on the first crewed flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, the Demo-2 mission, which launched May 27, 2020. The SpaceX Crew Dragon, along with the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, will provide roundtrip crew transportation services to the International Space Station and return the ability to launch humans into space from United States soil as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. After docking with the International Space Station on the second day of the mission, he also joined Expedition 63 as a flight engineer.

A new lead selected for our human spaceflight efforts, the new core capability of our next Mars rover, and news about our future VIPER lunar robot … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

A boost in the right direction for Artemis, closing in on the launch of our next Mars rover, and the latest progress in our quest for quiet supersonic flight … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, the agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA. Jackson started her NASA career in the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Jackson, a mathematician and aerospace engineer, went on to lead programs influencing the hiring and promotion of women in NASA's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. In 2019, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. “Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space. Mary never accepted the status quo, she helped break barriers and open opportunities for African Americans and women in the field of engineering and technology,” said Bridenstine. “Today, we proudly announce the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building. It appropriately sits on ‘Hidden Figures Way,’ a reminder that Mary is one of many incredible and talented professionals in NASA’s history who contributed to this agency’s success. Hidden no more, we will continue to recognize the contributions of women, African Americans, and people of all backgrounds who have made NASA’s successful history of exploration possible.” The work of the West Area Computing Unit caught widespread national attention in the 2016 Margot Lee Shetterly book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.” The book was made into a popular movie that same year and Jackson’s character was played by award-winning actress Janelle Monáe. “We are honored that NASA continues to celebrate the legacy of our mother and grandmother Mary W. Jackson,” said, Carolyn Lewis, Mary’s daughter. “She was a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother, and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation.” Jackson was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia. After graduating high school, she graduated from Hampton Institute in 1942 with a dual degree in math and physical sciences, and initially accepted a job as a math teacher in Calvert County, Maryland. She would work as a bookkeeper, marry Levi Jackson and start a family, and work a job as a U.S. Army secretary before her aerospace career would take off. In 1951, Jackson was recruited by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which in 1958 was succeeded by NASA. She started as a research mathematician who became known as one of the human computers at Langley. She worked under fellow “Hidden Figure” Dorothy Vaughan in the segregated West Area Computing Unit. After two years in the computing pool, Jackson received an offer to work in the 4-foot by 4-foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, a 60,000 horsepower wind tunnel capable of blasting models with winds approaching twice the speed of sound. There, she received hands-on experience conducting experiments. Her supervisor eventually suggested she enter a training program that would allow Jackson to earn a promotion from mathematician to engineer. Because the classes were held at then-segregated Hampton High School, Jackson needed special permission to join her white peers in the classroom. Jackson completed the courses, earned the promotion, and in 1958 became NASA’s first Black female engineer. For nearly two decades during her engineering career, she authored or co-authored research numerous reports, most focused on the behavior of the boundary layer of air around airplanes. In 1979, she joined Langley’s Federal Women’s Program, where she worked hard to address the hiring and promotion of the next generation of female mathematicians, engineers and scientists. Mary retired from Langley in 1985.

A power spacewalk outside the space station, honoring a former ‘Hidden Figure,’ and a “way cool” find of a hot Jupiter … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Have burning questions about asteroids? Our experts have answers! (Spoiler Alert: none of them will hit Earth.) Our solar system is littered with asteroids and comets and sometimes they get a little close to Earth. When an asteroid or comet looks like it could come near our home planet, we keep close watch to warn of any potential impacts.

How did life begin on Earth? Does life exist beyond our home planet? How do we search for it? These are the really tough questions astrobiologists want to answer by studying life as we know it.

A mighty powerful spacewalk outside the space station, a look at the space station’s next crew, and updates on our Artemis program … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Astronauts Chris Cassidy, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken commemorate Independence Day in the United States. They explain the history of the American flag that was flown on the first and last space shuttle missions, which Doug and Bob will carry back to Earth when they return home aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.

Our next Mars Rover gets closer to launch, a comet spotted from the space station and we’re ready to build a spacecraft to explore a metal-rich asteroid … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

NASA's next Mars rover has a name – Perseverance. Like every exploration mission before, our rover is going to face challenges, and it’s going to make amazing discoveries. The time at hand is hard. We have already surmounted many obstacles on our way to Red Planet, but as humans we will not give up. We will always persevere. Targeted for launch in July 2020, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover will search for signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past and for signs of past microbial life itself.

169,635 views 14 Jul 2020 Our Mars Perseverance rover is targeted to lift off July 30, 2020, on a seven-month journey to the Red Planet. It will search for signs of ancient life, collect rock and soil samples and help prepare for future human exploration. Producer/Editor: Lacey Young Music: Universal Production Music

The search for ancient life. Planetary evolution. Preparing for future human exploration. There are so many reasons to study the Red Planet. If you're craving more, here’s what you need to know about Mars!

NASA is advancing many technologies to send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s. Here are six things we are working on right now to make future human missions to the Red Planet possible. Producer/Editor: Lacey Young Music: Universal Production Music

NASA Astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken tied the record for most U.S. Spacewalks on July 21, 2020. It was the 10th Spacewalk for both Cassidy and Behnken tying them with former astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Peggy Whitson for the most spacewalks by an American Astronaut. Behnken and Cassidy performed a number of tasks designed to upgrade station systems. Their first task will be to install a protective unit to store tools for use by the Canadian Space Agency’s Dextre robot. The storage unit also includes two Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) units that Dextre can use to detect leaks of ammonia, which is used to operate the station’s cooling system. The astronaut duo then worked on removing two lifting fixtures at the base of station solar arrays on the near port truss, or backbone, of the station. The “H-fixtures” were used for ground processing of the solar arrays prior to their launch. They then moved on to work to prepare the outside of the Tranquility module for the arrival later this year of the Nanoracks commercial airlock on a SpaceX cargo delivery mission. Finally, they routed ethernet cables and removed a lens filter cover from an external camera. Chris Cassidy has now logged 54 hours 51 minutes of spacewalk time - the 9th most of all time. Robert Behnken has logged 61 hours 10 minutes of spacewalk time - the 4th most of all time.

A record-tying spacewalk to upgrade the space station, the station crew receives a new shipment of supplies, and looking forward to seeing Ingenuity take flight on Mars … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

In this “On the Go” episode of #EZScience, we’re on the scene at Kennedy Space Center with the rocket that will take the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter to Mars. ABOUT THE SERIES: In this video series with the National Air and Space Museum, NASA's associate administrator for science Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen and Museum director Dr. Ellen Stofan talk about the latest in planetary science and exploration.

Our next Mars rover is on its way, preparing for the historic return of a Commercial Crew mission, and naming the crew for a future mission … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Docking their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station in May completed the first part of the mission for NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley on the first crewed test flight for the Commercial Crew Program (CCP). But their task was far from over. The following months contained another important piece of their journey: living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory. Together, they spent more than 100 hours assisting or conducting science and technology demonstrations on station.

While in orbit, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley captured stunning views of our home planet Earth. The duo made history May 30 when they launched from American soil in a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft to the International Space Station. Their mission and test flight is helping NASA certify SpaceX’s crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the orbiting laboratory.

NASA Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley splashed down in the Dragon Endeavour capsule at 2:48 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 2, off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. The Crew Dragon hatch was opened at 3:59 p.m., and Behnken and Hurley exited the spacecraft onto the Go Navigator for initial medical checks before returning to shore by helicopter. Once returned to shore, both crew members will immediately board a waiting NASA plane to fly back to Ellington field in Houston. Hurley and Behnken arrived to the International Space Station May 31 and spent 62 days supporting science and research aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expedition 63. Demo-2 is SpaceX’s final test flight and is providing data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, splashdown, and recovery operations. The data will inform NASA’s certification of the SpaceX crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX is readying the hardware for the first rotational mission that will occur following NASA certification, which is expected to take about six weeks.

(No Audio) Raw footage of the 2:48 p.m. EDT, Sunday, Aug. 2, splashdown of SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are aboard, returning from the International Space Station. Dragon's parachutes slowed the spacecraft to a speed of about 15mph for splashdown.

NASA is enabling safe, reliable, and cost-effective crew transportation to and from the International Space Station from two private companies – Spacex and Boeing. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program represents a revolutionary approach to government and commercial collaborations for the advancement of space exploration. For the first time in history, NASA astronauts launched from American soil in a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft to the space station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley launched May 31 on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They returned to Earth and splashed down in the Dragon Endeavor capsule on Sunday, Aug. 2, off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Known as NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2, the mission is an end-to-end test flight to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, including launch, in-orbit, docking and landing operations. The program demonstrates NASA’s commitment to investing in commercial companies through public-private partnerships and builds on the success of American companies, including SpaceX, already delivering cargo to the space station. Boeing will also complete an uncrewed flight test followed by a crewed flight test for certification to fly NASA astronauts to the space station.

A safe splashdown for an historic test flight, a major milestone for a future mission, and remembering a champion for Earth Science … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA! Producer: Andre Valentine Editor: Lacey Young Music: Universal Production Music