Sapce

Getting a spacecraft to Mars is one thing; getting it safely to the ground is a whole other challenge! This 60-second video from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains three ways to land on the surface of the Red Planet.

Has Mars ever had the right ingredients for life? What are organic molecules, and what can they tell us about the history of Mars?

Where Does Gold Come From? The Webb’s Telescope’s dazzling mirrors have a microscopic layer of gold and it isn’t for aesthetic reasons. Different wavelengths of light are best reflected with certain metals. Reflect on these materials along with host Sophia Roberts to learn why these mirrors are so well suited for infrared observation

The Webb’s Telescope’s dazzling mirrors have a microscopic layer of gold and it isn’t for aesthetic reasons. Different wavelengths of light are best reflected with certain metals. Reflect on these materials along with host Sophia Roberts to learn why these mirrors are so well suited for infrared observation

Utah is home to many valuable materials – copper, magnesium, uranium, gold and silver. But most of the world’s beryllium is mined here. And engineers chose beryllium for Webb’s mirrors because it is lightweight, it is strong and it is dimensionally stable. Learn more about where the beryllium for Webb’s mirrors originated in this episode of Elements.

Have you heard of beryllium? It’s a rare lightweight metal used as the primary material on the Webb Telescope. This episode explores the reason this expensive metal is perfect for Webb. Special thanks to LA Gauge for hosting the media team.

The Webb Telescope has a tennis court size sunshield made out of a thin material called Kapton. It shields the exposed mirrors and science instruments from the light and heat of the Sun, Earth and moon. How well can a material 1/1,000th of an inch thick work? Find out on this Episode of Elements of Webb.

Where does beryllium really come from? To explain beryllium’s rare beginnings, we have to talk about the cosmic origins of most elements.

Silicon is the go-to chip and sensor material for a reason – it works. Learn about the semi-conductor properties that make this element the right choice for the Webb Telescope.

Carbon composites are everywhere, including Webb. Let’s see how engineers incorporated the new material to make the Webb Telescope strong and light weight.

Helium is the element with the lowest boiling point. Find out how the James Webb Space Telescope uses this special element to stay cool in the latest episode of Elements of Webb.

The Webb Telescope is full of precise optical components, some of which include lenses made out of salt. Why? Find out why our infrared telescope requires this unexpected lens in this episode of Elements of Webb.

This is the “Elements of Webb” series finale. Webb uses a variety of unique and run-of-the mill elements in its build. It is also designed to detect the elemental makeup of distant objects. Learn how Webb uses spectroscopy to investigate new worlds

Black objects absorb heat. But Webb’s radiator, designed to keep the science instruments cold, is black. Why? Find out on this episode of Elements of Webb.

Parker Solar Probe

What are some skywatching highlights in October 2023? A “ring of fire” solar eclipse across the Americas on Oct. 14 is this month’s top highlight! Plus the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus strike some lovely poses for stargazers and planet watchers to enjoy.

What are some skywatching highlights in September 2023? Venus returns to the early morning skies as a bright beacon in the east. The full moon at the end of the month is known as the Harvest Moon. And if you have access to dark skies away from urban light pollution, you might be able to glimpse the faint, glowing pillar of the zodiacal light.

What are some skywatching highlights in November 2023? The Leonid meteors peak, Saturn sits in the celestial sea, and Venus and Jupiter are visible on opposite sides of the sky.

As the series wraps, we look to the future of lidar missions and reflect on what makes the Goddard Space Flight Center a great place to innovate, collaborate and build on the past, both the successes and failures, for the future.

The Goddard team recounts the challenging paths that lead to the current lidar missions, the Global Ecosystems Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) and ICESat-2, which look to measure changes on our planet.

In this series, we dive into the legacy of Goddard’s lead role in developing laser altimetry, which has revolutionized the way we map our planet, the Moon and other planets. Each chapter looks at the successes and failures of these lidar instruments, beginning with the Mars Observer Laser Altimeter (MOLA) in the late 1980s, through the current generation of laser altimeters on ICESat-2 and GEDI. Through dozens of interviews and archival footage, the history, challenges and legacy of lidar are uncovered. In this first episode, the scientists and engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center embark on a new technological and scientific journey, building and sending a laser altimeter to Mars with the MOLA-1 Instrument.

After the devastating loss of Mars Observer, the Goddard team mourns and regroups to build a second MOLA instrument for the Mars Global Surveyor mission. But before their laser altimeter goes to Mars, the team seizes an opportunity to test it on the Space Shuttle.

Riding on the success of MOLA, the Goddard team develops new lidar instruments for Earth, the Moon and Mercury. Each new instrument is a major leap forward in technology and scientific ambition and equally fraught with challenges.

The structure of the International Space Station relies heavily on a series of trusses engineered to withstand compression, tension, torsion and shear forces the station may encounter in low-Earth orbit. In this episode, Expedition 55/56 Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold explains the significance of these resilient structures and the forces they are up against in microgravity.

Exercise is an integral part of the astronauts’ daily routine aboard the International Space Station. In this STEMonstration, Expedition 53/54 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba stresses the importance of exercising in orbit, and dives into the science behind what happens to bones and muscles in microgravity.