NASA

NASA Boeing Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are on their way to the rocket after walking out of the historic Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building and into the Starliner Astrovan that will take them to the launch pad. Watch live: https://www.space.com/boeing-starline... Credit: NASA

The Clearest Image of Proxima B, Released by the James Webb Space Telescope #proximab #jameswebbtelescope #space

This new, immersive visualization produced on a NASA supercomputer represents a scenario where a camera — a stand-in for a daring astronaut — enters the event horizon, sealing its fate. This version is a 360-degree video that lets viewers look all around during the one-way trip. Goddard scientists created the visualizations on the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation. The destination is a supermassive black hole with 4.3 million times the mass of our Sun, equivalent to the monster located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. To simplify the complex calculations, the black hole is not rotating. A flat, swirling cloud of hot, glowing gas called an accretion disk surrounds the black hole and serves as a visual reference during the fall. So do glowing structures called photon rings, which form closer to the black hole from light that has orbited it one or more times. A backdrop of the starry sky as seen from Earth completes the scene. The project generated about 10 terabytes of data — equivalent to roughly half of the estimated text content in the Library of Congress — and took about 5 days running on just 0.3% of Discover’s 129,000 processors. The same feat would take more than a decade on a typical laptop.

In the last two videos of this series, we compare results between GradientCorrection and the new gradient correction algorithms based on the Multiscale All-Sky Reference Survey (MARS) in PixInsight, emphasizing the difference between the correction of gradients based on intrinsic image data and external reference data.

A dress rehearsal for the next commercial crew flight test, making room for another visitor at the space station, and a mission to test a next-generation solar sail … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA! Video Producer: Andre Valentine Video Editor: Andre Valentine Narrator: Emanuel Cooper Music: Universal Production Music Credit: NASA

Watch live as two NASA astronauts launch from Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft as one of the final steps on the road to certification. Launch of the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket and Starliner spacecraft is targeted for 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6 (0234 UTC Tuesday, May 7) from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The two NASA astronauts aboard, flight commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth. After a one-week stay docked to the International Space Station, the Starliner and crew will land under parachutes in the western United States. Launch coverage on NASA+ (https://plus.nasa.gov) will end shortly after Starliner orbital insertion. NASA Television (https://nasa.gov/nasatv) will provide continuous coverage leading up to docking and through hatch opening and welcome remarks.

A black hole bends light behind it. This is called Gravitational Lensing. #space

This new, immersive visualization produced on a NASA supercomputer represents a scenario where a camera — a stand-in for a daring astronaut — enters the event horizon, sealing its fate. Goddard scientists created the visualizations on the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation. The destination is a supermassive black hole with 4.3 million times the mass of our Sun, equivalent to the monster located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. To simplify the complex calculations, the black hole is not rotating. A flat, swirling cloud of hot, glowing gas called an accretion disk surrounds the black hole and serves as a visual reference during the fall. So do glowing structures called photon rings, which form closer to the black hole from light that has orbited it one or more times. A backdrop of the starry sky as seen from Earth completes the scene. The project generated about 10 terabytes of data — equivalent to roughly half of the estimated text content in the Library of Congress — and took about 5 days running on just 0.3% of Discover’s 129,000 processors. The same feat would take more than a decade on a typical laptop.

Meet six interns who played a key hands-on role in development and testing of the hardware and software for CADRE, NASA’s upcoming lunar technology demonstration, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. CADRE will send a trio of small rovers to the Moon to work as a team and explore autonomously. For more information about CADRE, visit: go.nasa.gov/cadre For more information about internship opportunities, visit: jpl.nasa.gov/intern Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

This new, immersive visualization produced on a NASA supercomputer represents a scenario where a camera — a stand-in for a daring astronaut — just misses the event horizon and slingshots back out. This version is a 360-degree video that lets viewers look all around during the trip. Goddard scientists created the visualizations on the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation. The destination is a supermassive black hole with 4.3 million times the mass of our Sun, equivalent to the monster located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. To simplify the complex calculations, the black hole is not rotating. A flat, swirling cloud of hot, glowing gas called an accretion disk surrounds the black hole and serves as a visual reference during the fall. So do glowing structures called photon rings, which form closer to the black hole from light that has orbited it one or more times. A backdrop of the starry sky as seen from Earth completes the scene. The project generated about 10 terabytes of data — equivalent to roughly half of the estimated text content in the Library of Congress — and took about 5 days running on just 0.3% of Discover’s 129,000 processors. The same feat would take more than a decade on a typical laptop.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is set to return to Earth this fall after setting the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut. He arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 21, 2022, and will return home after 371 days in space. While on the orbiting lab, Rubio and his fellow crew members conducted dozens of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. Learn more about Frank Rubio’s year-long scientific journey aboard the space station: https://go.nasa.gov/3LrwS29

Remember that Y2K thing a few years ago? Where everyone was afraid the world was going to end because computer programmers saved space by putting dates as… 77 for 1977, 85 for 1985, Or 90 for 1990? But then it became clear that when the year 2000 finally rolled around all of the computers would think it was actually 00. Or the year 1900. Well, it turns out Hubble has something similar, only Hubble’s clock restarts every 6,213 days, 18 hours, 48 minutes, and 31.875 seconds. Or roughly every 17 years for those of you who like counting. That’s because Hubble’s computers have a different way of tracking time than we have here on the ground. You’d think it would be as simple as synching our ground clocks with Hubble’s personal timepiece, but you’d be surprised! For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Paul Morris: Lead Producer Music Credit: "Auld Lang Syne" by Benjamin Peter McAvoy [PRS] and Traditional [DP] via Sound Pocket Music [PRS], and Universal Production Music. “Ace of Faces” by Justin D. Thompson [BMI] via Emperia Beta Publishing [BMI], and Universal Production Music. Video Credit: 2000 Millennium Celebrations On A 80S 90S Retro Television by Vulk via POND5 2000 To 2024 Year Countdown Spiral Time Tunnel Animation Video by Shurshart via POND5 Flip Calendar - 365 Days Video by BeauPhoto via POND5 Calendar Month Red Video by EnchantedStudios via POND5 Time-Lapse Of Milky Way Stars Over Mountain Tops by BlackBoxGuild via POND5 Green Digital Code On Monitor Seamless Loop Video by gonin via POND5 Paper Animation Texture by vistoff via MotionArray Retro Computer Hacking by RelativeMedia via MotionArray Sound Effects Credit: Slow Down Spin 2 by JiltedG via MotionArray Mistake Sound by PashaStriker via MotionArray Motion Whoosh Swipe by Beison via MotionArray Spinning by StudioZonet via MotionArray Plop by WarpEFX via MotionArray Buzzer by victorysound via MotionArray Bacon Sizzle by Gfx Sounds Studios via MotionArray Plop SFX by WARP EFX via MotionArray Energy Wave Cue by Audio Planet via MotionArray Pencil Foley Part 2 by Woozle via MotionArray Pencil Line by Sound Design via MotionArray Party Horn Noise Maker by Woozle via MotionArray Car Door by Warp EFX via MotionArray Random Numbers Generator by dauzkobza via MotionArray

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed what looks like a cosmic, double-bladed lightsaber. In the center of the image, partially obscured by a dark, Jedi-like cloak of dust, a newborn star shoots twin jets out into space as a sort of birth announcement to the universe. In this video, Dr. Ken Carpenter explains this breathtaking image and how important Hubble is to exploring the mysteries of the universe, even if it is far far away! For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Producer, Director & Editor: James Leigh Director of Photography: James Ball Executive Producers: James Leigh & Matthew Duncan Production & Post: Origin Films Video Credits: Hubble Space Telescope Animation: ESA/Hubble - M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen Music Credits: "Transcode" by Lee Groves [PRS], and Peter George Marett [PRS] via Universal Production Music

What are some skywatching highlights in May 2024? Mars and Saturn tussle with the Moon, Mercury makes a brief a.m. appearance, East Coasters can see red giant star Antares emerge from behind the Moon, and the eta Aquariid meteors peak on May 6th.

Watch as the four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 mission move their Dragon Endeavour spacecraft between docking ports on the International Space Station. Aboard are: • NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps • Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin The crew's Dragon spacecraft will physically separate from the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony module at 8:55 a.m EDT (1255 UTC), then dock at the station's space-facing Harmony port at 9:38 a.m. EDT (1338 UTC). The spacecraft is relocating to make room for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, currently scheduled to arrive in May. For live updates and other news from the station, visit our ISS blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation. Credit: NASA #NASA #InternationalSpaceStation #SpaceX

At a time when phone cameras are capable of taking snapshots with millions of pixels, an instrument on the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) captures revolutionary science with just 36 of them. That may sound impossible, but it’s true. XRISM (pronounced “crism”) is led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in collaboration with NASA, along with contributions from ESA (European Space Agency). It launched into orbit last September and has been scrutinizing the cosmos ever since. The mission detects “soft” X-rays, which have energies up to 5,000 times greater than visible light. It will probe the universe’s hottest regions, largest structures, and objects with the strongest gravity, like supermassive black holes in the cores of distant galaxies. XRISM accomplishes this with an instrument named Resolve. Resolve's detector takes the temperature of each X-ray that strikes it. Astronomers call Resolve a microcalorimeter spectrometer because each of its 36 pixels measures the tiny amount of heat delivered by each incoming X-ray. This lets astronomers see the chemical fingerprints of elements making up the sources in unprecedented detail. In order to accomplish this, the entire detector must be chilled to 459.58 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 273.1 degrees Celsius), just a whisker above absolute zero. The instrument is so precise it can detect the motions of elements within a target, effectively providing a 3D view. Gas moving toward us glows at slightly higher energies than normal, while gas moving away from us emits slightly lower energies. This will, for example, allow scientists to better understand the flow of hot gas within clusters of galaxies and to track the movement of different elements in the debris of supernova explosions. Resolve is taking astronomers into a new era of cosmic exploration — and with only three-dozen pixels.

Get ready to uncover the mysteries of the digital world as we delve into the secret corners of Google Earth that are off-limits for a reason. But beware - some mysteries are best left unsolved! Tune in to discover the surprising truths behind these forbidden places and why you should think twice before hitting that search button. 🔒🌟 #ForbiddenPlaces #GoogleEarth #MysteryUnveiled

The Sun’s activity will be at its peak in 2024, providing a rare opportunity to study how solar storms and radiation could affect future astronauts and robots on Mars. This peak period – called solar maximum – will be observed by NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmospheric and Volatiles EvolutioN) orbiter and Curiosity rover. Learn how both spacecraft have a big year ahead in this video featuring MAVEN Principal Investigator Shannon Curry of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Solar maximum occurs roughly every 11 years. During this period, the Sun is especially prone to throwing fiery tantrums in a variety of forms, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These events launch radiation deep into space. When a series of these solar events erupt, it’s called a solar storm. Earth’s magnetic field largely shields our home planet from the effects of these storms. But Mars lost its global magnetic field long ago, leaving the Red Planet more vulnerable to the Sun’s energetic particles. Researchers are excited to potentially gather data on just how intense solar activity can get at Mars. Among the preparations space agencies will need to make for sending humans to the Red Planet is what kind of radiation protection astronauts would require. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN mission. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California leads the Curiosity mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/Scientific Visualization Studio/SDO/LASP-University of Colorado Boulder/MSSS

Prelaunch Activities for Our Next Commercial Crew Flight Test, celebrating our home planet for Earth Day, and conducting high-flying science during the recent solar eclipse … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Your science is ready for delivery. 📦 NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick closes out the Dragon spacecraft in preparation for its scheduled departure in late April. Dragon will return to Earth with samples and hardware from several experiments for further study.

Many space telescopes, including NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, require fuel to move. Propellant is, however, a finite resource. Watch how the NASA team carefully installs this mission-limiting resource into the telescope’s spacecraft bus. Music Credits: "Black Nebula" by Thomas Daniel Bellingham "Maelstrom Dream" by Lucie Rose "Evolution of Life" by David Stephen Goldsmith "Maximist" by Michael Blainey "Greatness Takes Time" by Beth Perry and Chris Doney Sound FX: "Asthma inhaler" by natty23 and "Compressed Air" by thompsonman Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Producers: Sophia Roberts (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.); Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) Animator: Jonathan North (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) Photographers: Christopher Gunn (InuTeq, LLC); Jolearra Tshiteya (ASRC Federal) Technical support: Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.) Narrator: Sophia Roberts (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.) This video can be freely shared and downloaded at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14575. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14575. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines.

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #AskNASA to talk to us. Learn more about the important research being operated on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science For more information about STEM on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

This animation discusses the upcoming spacewalk in which Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of the Expedition 71 crew will egress the Poisk airlock to complete the deployment of one panel on a synthetic radar system on the Nauka module and install equipment and experiments on the Poisk module to analyze the level of corrosion on station surfaces and modules. It will be the 270th spacewalk in support of station maintenance and upgrades, the seventh for Kononenko and the second for Chub.

The Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 34th year in orbit by premiering a stunning new Hubble image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula. Located approximately 3,400 light-years away the Little Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula, which is an expanding shell of gas around an aging or dying star. Even after all these years, Hubble continues to uncover the mysteries of the universe. These are a few science achievements from Hubble’s latest year in orbit. For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Paul Morris: Lead Producer Music Credit: "Slide" by Timothy Paul Handels [SABAM] via Pedigree Cuts [PRS], and Universal Production Music. Video Credit: Exoplanet K2-18b (Artist’s Impression) Credit: ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser This video can be freely shared and downloaded at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14569. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14569.

At 1:47 a.m. EST (6:47 UTC) on Nov. 16, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft launched atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from historic Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a path to the Moon, officially beginning the Artemis I mission. Over the course of 25.5 days, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles (129 kilometers) of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles (435,000 kilometers) from our home planet. NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 9:40 a.m. PST (12:40 p.m. EST) as the final major milestone of the Artemis I mission. Artemis I set new records of performance, exceeded efficiency expectations, and established new safety baselines for humans in deep space. This is a prelude to what comes next—following the success of Artemis I, human beings will fly around the Moon on Artemis II.